{"id":48665,"date":"2021-02-11T14:44:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T21:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/can-homemade-lasagna-be-the-thing-that-lifts-our-neighbors\/"},"modified":"2021-02-11T21:44:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T21:44:37","slug":"can-homemade-lasagna-be-the-thing-that-lifts-our-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/can-homemade-lasagna-be-the-thing-that-lifts-our-neighbors\/","title":{"rendered":"Can homemade lasagna be the thing that lifts our neighbors?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jenny
Jenny Gummersall prepares several pans of lasagna in her kitchen near Allison for Lasagna Love, a nationwide grassroots nonprofit that support neighbors through homemade food delivery.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

La Plata County residents are turning to lasagna as a way to help neighbors experiencing tough times.<\/p>\n

The local effort is part of Lasagna Love, a nationwide grassroots movement featured on NBC\u2019s \u201cToday Show,\u201d \u201cGood Morning America\u201d and more than 30 media outlets. The idea is simple: Make a lasagna and share it with a neighbor. The impact, however, is significant, said local volunteers.<\/p>\n

Jenny Gummersall, who lives near Ignacio, felt helpless seeing the food lines and knowing people were suffering and hungry, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw Lasagna Love on the news, I thought, \u2018This is something I can do to help others during the pandemic,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Lasagna
Lasagna Love volunteers offer families a nutritious, homemade meal. It makes a big difference to have a hot meal on the table when someone is exhausted from navigating pandemic challenges, several volunteers said.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lasagna
Lasagna Love volunteers pack their lasagnas full of nutritious ingredients for the families that receive the meals. It&#x2019;s an easy, flexible way to help others experiencing a tough time during the pandemic, La Plata County volunteers said.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Gummersall made her first lasagna delivery Saturday. Kaye Berman, a Durango resident, was the first person to volunteer for the nonprofit in La Plata County and has helped more than 10 families.<\/p>\n

\u201c(There\u2019s) just a lot of gratitude,\u201d said Berman, recalling people\u2019s reactions while receiving the lasagna meals. \u201cJust \u2018Thank you so much. This will help our family,\u2019 or \u2018We are so looking forward to a hot lasagna this Saturday for dinner.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Lasagna Love began in response to the coronavirus pandemic. With school closures and job instability, some families were also experiencing greater food insecurity. Parents were suddenly helping their children with remote schoolwork in addition to their daily work.<\/p>\n

\"Jenny
Jenny Gummersall uses seasoned, locally raised meat from Farmers Fresh in Ignacio in her lasagna recipe.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jenny
Jenny Gummersall uses fresh basil from her garden and mixes it into the ricotta cheese in her kitchen near Allison as part of Lasagna Love.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Rhiannon Menn, founder of Good to Mama, started delivering homemade lasagnas in March to families in need of a helping hand.<\/p>\n

Within months, the Lasagna Love movement was featured on news outlets nationwide and turned into a grassroots nonprofit. As of February, there are 18,000 volunteers spanning all 50 states and Puerto Rico delivering 3,500 meals each week.<\/p>\n

About 575 people in Colorado have also become volunteers, called Lasagna mamas and papas. Eight of those volunteers live in La Plata County communities, with two in Pagosa Springs, said Kimberly Kenworthy, the regional leader for Western Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously during the pandemic, many families are suffering. \u2026 They just need to know that someone cares and will go the extra mile,\u201d Kenworthy said. \u201cI just think providing a home-cooked meal \u2013 letting them know you care and support them \u2013 is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jenny
Jenny Gummersall places several pans of lasagna into her oven near Allison. Eight La Plata County residents volunteer with Lasagna Love.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jenny
Jenny Gummersall felt helpless watching families struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she learned about Lasagna Love, she said it gave her a way to support and connect with her neighbors.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s a low-barrier volunteer and meal request process. Lasagna mamas and papas can choose how frequently they want to prepare a lasagna, how many families they want to serve and how far they\u2019re willing to drive.<\/p>\n

They can change their capacity week by week or volunteer to make one. It\u2019s self-funded by volunteers who must follow health and safety guidelines for at-home food preparation.<\/p>\n

Those who are not able to make meals themselves can still support the effort by sponsoring a volunteer.<\/p>\n

There are no requirements to receive a lasagna, either. Neighbors can nominate others to receive a meal, and people can list their dietary restrictions. It might take two or more weeks to receive a lasagna.<\/p>\n

\"Through
Through Lasagna Love, residents make homemade lasagna for neighbors to offer a moment of reprieve from a challenging year.<\/span>Courtesy of Jenny Gummersall<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lasagna
Lasagna Love, a national nonprofit, has been featured in more than 30 media outlets. About 18,000 volunteers from across the United States have joined the effort.<\/span>Courtesy of Jenny Gummersall<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Gummersall and Berman pack their lasagnas as full as possible, adding extra nutritious ingredients or special touches like nutmeg and locally raised beef. Berman, a chef, occasionally delivers the lasagna with extras, like a salad or brownies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, just from having worked with food banks before, that the need is there. People who haven\u2019t had to worry about where their next meal is coming from, suddenly had to worry about it,\u201d Berman said. \u201cI have the capacity to cook for people. \u2026 I just want to pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

They deliver their meals to working families, caregivers, senior citizens and health care workers (while maintaining social distancing because of the pandemic).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a way we can connect and show we care about our neighbors who we don\u2019t even know,\u201d Gummersall said. \u201cIf I can brighten someone\u2019s day \u2013 take some stress out of their life with a home-cooked meal \u2013 then I feel like I can do some good \u2026 one lasagna at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A simple meal can show you care during pandemic, food insecurity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[731,685,438,13,28,1235,445,1269,1231,668],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-48665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bayfield","tag-coronavirus-covid-19","tag-food","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-ignacio","tag-newsletter-lead","tag-nonprofits","tag-pine-river-times","tag-public-health"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48665"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=48665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}