Contributed Photo
Seymour’s Laura Giovanetti prepares a holiday meal last month.
SEYMOUR — When it comes to a home-cooked meal, could there be anything more comforting than lasagna?
That’s exactly how the founder and scores of volunteers of Lasagna Love feel.
Started by a San Diego mom, Rhiannon Menn, who was looking to help moms and families struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lasagna Love has since grown into a national movement. Menn posted on a local mom’s group on Facebook, offering to make and deliver lasagnas to those who could use some comfort and a home-cooked meal.
Thousands of volunteers across the country have since been baking lasagnas in their kitchens and delivering them contact-free to families in their neighborhoods who are having a hard time putting food on their tables, according to the movement’s website.
Lasagna Love’s mission is simple: feed families, spread kindness and strengthen community.
The labor of love found its way to Connecticut a few months ago, and that’s when Seymour resident and longtime teacher Laura Giovanetti knew she had to get involved.
Giovanetti, a speech pathologist/assistive technology specialist at Cooperative Educational Services in Trumbull for 35 years, saw a story on a local TV news show seeking volunteers to bake the gooey layers of goodness.
“I wanted to do something meaningful during this pandemic and didn’t want to just donate money,” Giovanetti said. “When I saw this opportunity I knew it was something I could do. I learned to make lasagna from my mom and honestly no Italian should pass up the opportunity to make lasagnas for someone.”
On Christmas Eve, Giovanetti baked and personally delivered lasagnas to three families in need in Seymour and Ansonia, and isn’t planning to turn her oven off anytime soon.
“I know there are people struggling right now, and while they have the opportunity to go to a food bank for groceries, having a meal prepared and delivered is something very different,” Giovanetti added. “As a teacher, I know moms and dads are doing triple duty…working, teaching their kids and running a household. Giving them the night off from cooking and spending money on a meal is a small thing I can do to make their lives a little less stressful.”
Giovanetti said Lasagna Love has regional leaders who assign families in need to the volunteers based on their geographical locations.
“We let them know how often we would like to cook, how many families we would like to help and how far we are willing to drive to deliver,” said Giovanetti. “We are given contact info from our regional leader, we contact the family and arrange the day and time for delivery. On that day, we drop the lasagna off on their front porch and let them know it’s there so we keep it contact- free.”
Joy Delaney, of Simsbury, is the statewide coordinator for the Connecticut arm of Lasagna Love. After seeing Menn’s story last September on “The Today Show,” Delaney jumped at the chance to get involved.
“I was moved by the idea of spreading kindness to strangers,” Delaney said. “I was also reminded of a time last year when friends sent me meals while my son was recovering from surgery. There is something about receiving a meal that reminds you of how much others care.”
Delaney agreed that lasagna is the ultimate dish to deliver joy to others.
“As a staple comfort food, lasagna often reminds people of warm and comforting times with their families,” Delaney said. “It brings back good memories of a time when things were easier. It’s also logistically a great meal to provide because it can be made for a variety of dietary needs and travels well. It’s a great meal that is easy to reheat and makes wonderful leftovers, so the love can continue for many days.”
Delaney said while she didn’t have specific numbers for Connecticut, there are currently about 1,000 lasagnas being delivered each week nationally, “and Connecticut is a very active part of that movement.”
Delaney herself has been actively baking and delivering lasagnas since Thanksgiving.
“The biggest reaction we get from recipients is a general disbelief that there are really neighbors out there that want to help just from the kindness of their own hearts,” she said.
“One of my favorite parts of delivering is having contact with elderly people or anyone that is isolated during the pandemic. It feels wonderful to know that even just for one day they made contact with other people and they were not so alone.”
Anyone who’d like to request a lasagna, or those interested in becoming a volunteer can visit www.lasagnalove.org.
