Generation-spanning lasagna recipe used by Knoch student for kindness initiative
WINFIELD TWP — The oven is set to 350 degrees. Alyssa Patterson is stacking layer upon layer of lasagna noodle atop her blend of red meat sauce, ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella and crumbled Romano.
It’s Monday afternoon at the Patterson’s home in Winfield Township. The Knoch High School junior is not preparing dinner for her family, but the family of a complete stranger.
Although it takes a few hours to make her great-great-grandmother’s lasagna recipe, it’s a process Alyssa takes on at least a few times a month as a way to share the love. She gives these baked pasta dishes to people who sign up through Lasagna Love, a global nonprofit that aims to connect neighbors through homemade meal delivery.
For the last year-and-a-half, Alyssa has made lasagnas for the program when she sees a request she can fulfill within about 20 minutes of her house. Volunteering for the program has taught her a lot about other people, and a lot about cooking.
“Sometimes it's a little sad to read them but it does make you feel good that you're helping,” Alyssa said about reading requests from Lasagna Love requesters. “I do like to cook in general, but I really got good at it for Lasagna Love.”
Alyssa said she learned about Lasagna Love through her aunt, who started making lasagnas for the program during the COVID-19 pandemic. After learning about the program, Alyssa got involved, which happened shortly after she learned her family’s lasagna recipe.
Alyssa’s mom, Jodi Patterson, learned how to make her great-grandmother’s lasagna when she was growing up. She even has the recipe saved on a piece of paper her grandmother typed up, which is covered in sauce and cheese after years of reference.
She said she sees her daughter’s involvement with Lasagna Love as a good way to make an impact locally and she has already heard the personal effects of her pasta gifts.
“I thought it was a great idea because I think that helping people in your own community is really important,” Patterson said. “She gets these text messages from people saying, 'We're going to eat for a whole week and we are struggling.'”
Lasagna Love started in 2020, when a mom from San Diego, Calif., offered over social media to make lasagna for anyone who wanted one. What followed was a lot of requests, but also a lot of people who offered in turn to make lasagna for the people in need.
The nonprofit is now active in all 50 states — as well as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom — and has provided more than 2.6 million lasagnas to people.
Melanie Johnson, regional coordinator for Lasagna Love, said one reason the organization has served so many people could be because there are no requirements of any kind for a person who wants to request a lasagna. Anyone can do it through Lasagna Love’s website. The openness of its operations are a feature, not a bug. Johnson said that many people have requested a lasagna as a way to enjoy human connection.
“It's a very humbling organization, because you do serve neighbors in need with financial situations, people going through medical treatments, people who are exhausted from their jobs,” Johnson said. “It's saying, ‘This is the first time this week I got to eat dinner with my kids.’”
To people like Alyssa, this is nothing but good news. She likes making lasagna anyway and she can help with Lasagna Love on her own time.
She has even gotten feedback from people she has left lasagna for — messages that Alyssa’s mom said are emotionally affecting at times.
“There was that lady from Freeport, maybe a couple months ago now, who said, 'We are going through the hardest time in our life right now,’” Patterson said.
As Johnson explained, feedback from requesters is not required and they don’t even need to speak much with their chef. But the communal bonding over the meal is one way Lasagna Love aims to create and promote community.
Johnson added that some conversations between chef and recipient don’t end after the drop off.
Johnson also said people who have gotten lasagnas through Lasagna Love have gone on to make lasagnas for other people through the organization.
“Caring about a complete stranger, it really reminds you what's important,” Johnson said. “We're big on the ripple impact of kindness. A very large number of them are going to help out in their own way.”
Johnson said anyone can get involved in Lasagna Love, even if they are not kitchen-inclined. The nonprofit provides some beginner lasagna recipes over its website, but it also offers other opportunities for people to help, whether it be through fundraising or sponsorships.
However, Johnson said she is a big believer that anyone could make a lasagna, so she encourages people to start with one of Lasagna Love’s starter recipes if they want to help out.
Lasagna Love has “two-and-a-half” full-time employees, Johnson said, and the rest of its staff, including its regional coordinators, are volunteers.
Although she has moved to a pretty high up position within the organization, Johnson said she still signs up to make lasagnas, which reminds her of the purpose of her administrative work.
“That's very, very important to us. I need to understand that chef experience,” Johnson said. “Sometimes you get matched and forget that you were on the schedule this week, but then I think, ‘I get to cook this week.’”
Alyssa’s mindset is similar. She likes checking the Lasagna Love online portal to see if anyone near her has requested a lasagna because it gives her the opportunity to do something nice for someone else.
Sharing her family recipe is especially fun for her, because she is passing on a food her own family has bonded over.
“My family has made it the same way since really your great-great-grandmother. We never strayed from the recipe,” Patterson said. “I have an Italian family, so from a young age we grow up eating this stuff. We just eat it all the time, so once we learn how to make it, it's like a big deal to our family.”
For more information on Lasagna Love, visit its website at lasagnalove.org.
