Lynn Hirsch never made many lasagnas when her kids were growing up. It wasn’t a family favorite.
However, the children are now grown up with families of their own, and Hirsch is now “That Lasagna Lady Lynn” on Instagram, where she posts photos of her “lasagna art with a heart.”
Over the past four years, Hirsch has made about 500 pans of the Italian pasta meal, giving them all away as a volunteer and the global outreach director for the nonprofit Lasagna Love.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Lasagna Love is an online organization that connects neighbors through home-cooked meal deliveries.
Those who want a lasagna can sign up to receive one at no cost through the website lasagnalove.org. Those who can help by making and delivering a lasagna can sign up there, too.
“As a senior, I find that this is the most meaningful volunteer experience that I’ve had,” said Hirsch, a 72-year-old from Alpharetta.
Hirsch and her husband of 51 years, retired physician Dr. Glenn Hirsch, 74, raised their family in east Cobb. While their children were growing up, Lynn Hirsch was the quintessential volunteer mom for countless organizations and activities.
“I can’t say that I felt the same fulfillment with those as I do with this volunteer adventure,” she said. “It’s a great volunteer experience for seniors. We have the time and the means to cook a meal for another family. We’re also missing cooking meals for our families.”
The Hirsches moved to Alpharetta in 2019 to be near one of their sons and his family. However, when the pandemic hit, the young family moved into an RV and took off, leaving the elder Hirsches by themselves, trying to find their focus as retirees in a new city.
Lynn Hirsch found her bearings on Sept. 28, 2020, National Good Neighbor Day. She had heard about Lasagna Love earlier that year, but on this day she listened as founder Rhiannon Menn explained the program on NBC’s TODAY morning news show.
Menn told how helpless she felt seeing the COVID-related struggles of families in her San Diego community. She made pans of lasagnas, reached out through Facebook, and offered to deliver the food to anyone who needed a meal. Many people thought that was wonderful, and many more said they wanted to help.
Menn created a platform so neighbors could impact their communities through the kindness of a home-delivered meal.
“It was like a light bulb went off in my head, and I thought, oh my goodness, this is what I need to be doing,” Hirsch said.
That day, she and 5,000 others signed up as Lasagna Love volunteers. Hirsch started making lasagnas almost immediately, but because there were more volunteers than requests, she sometimes drove 30 miles to make a delivery.
“People did not know about Lasagna Love,” said Hirsch, who started spreading the word through social media and contacting civic groups, schools and food pantries.
The organization has grown to 56,000 volunteers in all 50 states, Canada and Australia in four years. A half million lasagnas have gone out, feeding about 2 million people.
Today, meal requests far outpace the number of Lasagna Love volunteers.
“We’re so overwhelmed with requests,” said Hirsch, adding that there is an urgent need for volunteers in metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia.
Hirsch said volunteering for Lasagna Love is flexible and straightforward. Volunteers sign up on the website indicating when they want to serve, how often and how many they’re willing to feed.
Once a week, volunteers are matched with those who have asked for a meal. Lasagna Love doesn’t just feed people with financial difficulties, but anyone who signs up. Requests are not vetted.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“There are no questions asked and no judgments made about their situation,” Hirsch said.
“Lasagna Love also tries to get rid of the stigma of asking for help,” she added. “It’s really OK to ask for help. You have neighbors who want to help you.”
Within a few months of joining, Hirsch became the Georgia outreach coordinator, then three years ago, the global outreach director – both volunteer positions.
She and her husband work together to make and deliver four large family-sized pans of lasagna weekly. She buys big containers of sauce and ricotta cheese from Restaurant Depot and gets mozzarella and ground beef from Costco.
While her husband makes the sauce, she mixes the ricotta filling and then layers the pasta. Often, she tops it with decorative hearts or other food art.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Several days before, Hirsch will call her chosen families to tell them who she is and when she will deliver the meal. Glenn Hirsch maps out their delivery trip so it’s efficient from start to finish. It’s almost always close to home.
One week, they delivered a lasagna to a widow with young children and a full-time job, then dropped off another one to a lady returning from the funeral of her sister who had just died from cancer.
Once a month, Hirsch and other Lasagna Love volunteers make casseroles for families staying at the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Volunteers also provide lasagnas for those experiencing homelessness, which The Elizabeth Foundation in Atlanta distributes, and provide meals to other groups upon request.
“Cooking is my love language, and it’s really nice to have somebody to cook for,” Hirsch said. “I’ve gotten as much out of this experience as I give to Lasagna Love.”
MORE DETAILS
How to help Lasagna Love : Volunteers are needed to make and deliver a lasagna to those who have requested one. Sign up at lasagnalove.org.
See Lynn Hirsch’s lasagna creations at instagram.com/lasagna_art_with_heart.
HELP US CELEBRATE EVERYDAY HEROES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is looking for inspiring Georgians — “Everyday Heroes” — who are making a difference, big or small, in their communities. Do you know someone who is going above and beyond to help others? Someone helping transform their community? Someone whose acts of kindness bring out the best in all of us? We’d like to hear from you – give us your ideas so we can all celebrate these extraordinary Georgians. Please submit your nominations via email to Nicole. Williams@AJC.com.
