This Delaware woman has made 120 lasagnas for strangers, all to spread some 'Lasagna Love'

Every other week, Gwen Baker of Red Lion begins the whole process again.

The retired human resources manager heads out to supermarkets and a BJ's Wholesale Club in search of the best prices for tomatoes, meats, cheeses and lasagna noodles before hunkering down in her kitchen.

It's there where it takes her six hours to prepare two or more pans of lasagna layered with homemade tomato sauce, ground beef, ground turkey and Italian sausage along with a trio of cheeses: mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan.

But forkfuls of this classic Italian comfort food won't end up on her dinner table, even though the mouth-watering smell of freshly baked lasagna fills her home twice a month.

Instead, she will wrap them up and drive to the Delaware homes of strangers in need and deliver them the loaded-down pans, all just to spread some "lasagna love."

In the two years since hearing about the Lasagna Love program from her daughter Brandie, Baker has made about 120 lasagnas expecting nothing in return, pairing them with Delawareans dealing with hardships, through an international nonprofit launched at the start of the pandemic by a California mother of three.

Anyone can request a homemade lasagna from Lasagna Love's website (lasagnalove.org) for themselves, although most people nominate a friend or family member in need, whether it is someone recovering from a surgery, depressed over a loss or a family struggling to feed themselves, sometimes living in a shelter or motel.

"It makes me feel so good to help someone," says Baker, whose meals are enough to feed a family and usually leave a little left over. "I feel that everyone should find a way to give back if they are in a position to do that. The Lord blessed me with the funds to do it and the skill to make a meal I have perfected."

In Delaware alone, 110 volunteer lasagna-makers

Lasagna Love was founded by Rhiannon Menn, a real estate principal who had an idea in April 2020 to help people who had lost their jobs after COVID-19 swept the country or were afraid to go to the grocery store in fear of the virus. She started making lasagnas, finding families in need through local Facebook groups.

Others saw what she was doing and offered to help, and unknowingly helped to spawn what has grown into an international nonprofit that serves the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia with 110 active lasagna-making volunteers in Delaware alone.

As the program inches toward its four-year anniversary, Lasagna Love's neighbor-to-neighbor impact is undeniable: About 48,000 Lasagna Love volunteers worldwide make about 3,500 lasagnas each week. The nonprofit estimates it has impacted more than 1.8 million lives through the delivery of more than 470,000 meals.

In Delaware, retired Lea Cassarino went from a Lasagna Love volunteer to the local leader for the nonprofit's First State operation after falling for its mission.

Pike Creek's Cassarino, 69, discovered the program only a year ago after a friend mentioned it, becoming a volunteer chef before learning they needed a volunteer to spearhead Delaware's program and accepting the position in May.

She didn't put her ladle down now that she oversees the state's program ― she still makes lasagna once a month, helping to lower the backlog of requests one lasagna at a time.

Delaware's 110 volunteers made and delivered 1,039 lasagnas last year, feeding an estimated 4,322 people across the state at a rate of about 20 lasagnas per week. And they all pay for the materials out of their own pocket, in addition to volunteering their time to make and deliver the meals.

How to request a lasagna

The Lasagna Love website is built for three groups of people: volunteers, people looking to nominate someone in need and those who want to request a lasagna for themselves.

If requesting for themselves, a person signs a waiver and fills out an online request form, giving their basic information and explaining to their matched volunteer how a lasagna would help, if they want to share. (It's not required.)

They also alert volunteers to any food allergies with some volunteers agreeing to make vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free lasagnas. They also can ask for contactless delivery.

If requesting for someone else, a person nominates a friend or family member by passing along their name, email or phone number. Lasagna Love will then contact them to ensure they agree to the Lasgana Love terms for volunteers to legally be permitted to deliver. A request is allowed to be done anonymously if requested.

Wait times vary based on demand, the number of volunteers in each area and how far they are willing to drive.

Current wait times are about 26 days in Wilmington, 19 days in Dover, 16 days in Rehoboth Beach and 10 days in Bridgeville. The average statewide wait time to be matched is about two weeks.

Delaware volunteers needed to meet demand

As the program gains in popularity, especially in Delaware where deliveries have increased year by year, there is a need for more volunteers to help shoulder the lasagna load, Cassarino says.

There is a "Get Involved" tab on the website, leading potential volunteers to more information and a registration form where they can choose how often they want to bake (once a week, every other week, once a month or just for one time) and how many miles they are willing to drive to make a delivery. Participation is entirely based on the volunteer's individual schedule and availability.

The core values of the program, which include being respectful, nonjudgmental and empowering to those you help, are what helped Cassarino make her decision to join last January.

"It's not easy for people to ask for help, especially nowadays with some people experiencing financial and food insecurities for the first time," she says. "I've delivered to many people who tell me they're going to give back and pay it forward when they can ― that's so inspiring.

"The rewards are immeasurable when you're helping your neighbors, spreading love one lasagna at a time."

The joy of giving

For those receiving a lasagna, the benefits are obvious: a free home-cooked meal with a heaping side of love and support at a time when it's most needed.

In the face of such selfless generosity, the recipients sometimes get a little choked up at the door or message back even before the volunteer has returned home to thank them or explain how much they are enjoying the volunteer's cheesy creation.

Bellefonte's Vickie Tully began volunteering in 2020 and goes the extra mile for her matches. Along with a lasagna she's made in her tiny kitchen ― sometimes with the songs of Frank Sinatra playing in the background ― she will deliver a loaf of Italian bread and a dessert picked up at her local Acme to make it a full meal.

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"My heart breaks when I make deliveries sometimes," she says, seeing firsthand the situation the lasagna-receivers are in, whether it's living in poverty or a grandmother struggling to raise her six grandchildren. "A lot of time just need a little help and they'll be back on their feet. And I hope by me giving now, they will give to someone else."

Baker feels the same way as she goes from delivery to delivery, whether it's for someone with an illness without the strength to make their own meals anymore, a woman with a broken leg recovering in a hospital bed in her home or a family in a low-income neighborhood just struggling to put food on the table each night.

"When we are trained, they tell us not to expect praise. It's not about that. But there are times when you do get little nuggets of appreciation and it keeps you going," says Baker, who also makes vegetarian lasagnas when requested, filled with zucchini, squash, peppers, carrots and more.

'Part of a larger universe'

Tully, who works in human resources for the Talleyville nonprofit community center Siegel JCC, delivers within a 20-mile radius, bringing her lasagnas everywhere from Wilmington to Claymont, all the way south to Bear. She's already made more than 60 and shows no signs of slowing down.

One of Tully's deliveries was to a neighbor of hers, living only a couple of streets from Tully's home tucked away in the quaint, tight-knit Bellefonte neighborhood east of Philadelphia Pike.

It was for a woman who just gave birth to her fourth child and her best friend had nominated her, leading to a neighborly moment as they met for the first time with a ready-to-eat dinner in Tully's hands.

"It makes me so joyful to help like that. It's my way of being connected to my community and being part of a larger universe, if you will," she says, wearing a T-shirt with the word "LOVE" printed in capital letters across the chest. "I do this because I truly want to take a worry off the table for just one day and when I do, I feel like I've made a contribution.

"As you get older, different things matter to you. When I leave this Earth, no one's going to remember me, but that's OK because I left it a better place than before I started helping these families."

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Lasagna Love volunteers have kitchens smelling good across Delaware