Angie Bouchard Madore, Lasagna Love regional director of Maine, assembles lasagnas. Courtesy of Angie Bouchard Madore
Nothing says kindness like a homemade lasagna delivered right to your door.
In the fall of 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, Angie Bouchard Madore of Hampden asked herself how she could help neighbors in need. Madore said she found an ad online about Lasagna Love, a nonprofit founded by Massachusetts native Rhiannon Menn, who was looking for volunteers to make lasagnas for struggling families.
Over the past three years, Lasagna Love has grown to include 45,000 volunteers across three countries and served over 350,000 families, according to its website. Now, volunteers are working to set roots in the Midcoast.
“I’ve always loved to cook. I thought this was a great way to give back to the community and a great way for my family to spend time together,” Madore said. “It’s a small gesture, a token of care that can impact someone’s day or week.”
Madore started volunteering in Boston and recently moved to Maine with her husband and children, who all take part in cooking and delivering lasagnas to homes in the community. A month ago, she stepped into the role of regional director after seeing the lack of representation in central Maine and the Midcoast.
“I was pretty shocked how much it was lacking here and then saw the opportunity to really grow it,” she said.
Currently, 1 in 10 Mainers are experiencing hunger, according to feedingamerica.org.
There are 100 volunteers making and delivering 9-inch-by-13-inch pans of lasagna to homes in Maine, but Madore said 150 families are still waiting to be matched with a volunteer. Those wanting to volunteer can sign up online to set a schedule, select a drop-off radius and choose if they are willing to cook for families with food allergies, such as gluten and dairy intolerance.
“Some volunteers cook every week, once a month or just one time,” Madore said. “It’s a flexible volunteer opportunity. I sign off on community service hours for high schoolers all the time. We also launched a Girl Scout patch program where they can earn a Lasagna Love patch. It’s brand new.”
Madore said those who wish to receive a lasagna sign a waiver acknowledging that volunteers are not professional cooks but that every volunteer completes safety training.
Anyone can qualify to receive a lasagna without proof of income. Madore said Lasagna Love doesn’t ask questions because “we don’t assign a value to need.” She said some recipients will leave a note explaining that they recently lost a job, became ill, couldn’t keep up with rising food costs, are overwhelmed expectant mothers or single parents.
Madore said she hopes to double the number of volunteers in Maine to spread kindness beyond families in need. In the past, when Lasagna Love had a surplus of volunteers, they delivered food to first responders, school nurses and other community servants to say thank you.
“The sky’s the limit,” Madore said.
For more information, visit lasagnalove.org.
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