News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Lasagna Love is seeking more volunteers to help the organization get meals out to families in need.
Regional Leader Carla Jo Martin said that the Lasagna Love started at the beginning of the pandemic after its founder saw an increase in those in her community need assistance. She said that the organization has spanned to three countries in just two years.
“From that small amount of contact from a few families,” Martin said. “To we have fed over 100,000 lasagnas to families which adds to over 450,000 people.”
Martin said that there are currently at least 15 families are on the waiting list for the service in the Cookeville area. She said that more volunteers would allow Lasagna Love to get these families assistance as soon as they need it.
“The one thing about Lasagna Love is it’s not about financial need, it’s about need,” Martin said. “And I cannot decide what your need is, only you can do that. So if you sign up on Lasagna Love and say ‘I need help,’ then we do it. It doesn’t matter where you live, it doesn’t matter where you work, it doesn’t matter where you come from, there are no requirements.”
Martin said that volunteering itself is on a personal basis. She said that those who sign up can choose when to make meals, how many to make, and how far they want to travel.
“So it’s really simple,” Martin said. “And the computer does everything and you get an email that says ‘Hey we’ve matched you with this family,’ and then you contact that family and say, ‘Hey I’m going to bring you a lasagna’ and they say ‘Cool! When can that happen?’ And you set up a time, and it’s great.”
Martin said that volunteers can sign up at lasagnalove.org/volunteer. She said that those who would like to sign up for meals can find the link at lasagnalove.org/request.
