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BROOKE KRUGER’S 7-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER CORALINE HELPS MAKE LASAGNA AS PART OF AMES’ LASAGNA LOVE INITIATIVE. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Showing the community love and support by making lasagna By Kylee Mullen Gannett
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eighbors have been bringing casserole dishes to one another in times of need for generations, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. That’s why a group of Story County residents are stepping up to keep their community fed. It started when Ames resident Brooke Kruger was talking to a friend from San Diego, who had started delivering lasagna to people in need. Kruger loved the idea, she said, and was inspired to organize her own branch of the initiative in Story County. It’s called Lasagna Love — an initiative which has quickly spread beyond San Diego and Ames, and now has groups in Des Moines, Fox Cities, Wis., and Sedona, Ariz. Kruger, along with a handful of local volunteers, has made dozens of lasagna dishes for people throughout Story County and surrounding cities. “It’s a really great way to give back to the community, because people are really, really struggling right now whether it’s financially, or because you have kids at home and they’re making you crazy, or for whatever reason you can’t pull it together to make a meal,” Kruger said. “We have food insecurity on top of that, and we just thought it was a really great way to help people, just by making some lasagna.”
6 | FACETS | JULY 2020
Why lasagna? According to Kruger, it’s something anyone can make and it’s a “hearty meal that fills you up.” When Kruger first started Lasagna Love in Story County, she put a call out on Facebook for volunteers and got an overwhelming response from residents willing to buy supplies, cook meals and deliver them. “I posted on (Facebook) asking for a volunteer to deliver a meal out of town, in Jewell, and I had four people within 10 minutes who said they would be happy to drive it there,” Kruger said. “It’s just super nice that so many people are stepping up to help. It’s really cool.” Now, while Lasagna Love is still in need of donations, she is looking for more people to either nominate themselves or someone they know to receive meals. “I really just want to let more people know that it exists, because I want to help more people,” she said. “I want to make sure we can help as many people as we possibly can.” Kruger said Ames’ branch of Lasagna Love is serving all the communities in and near Story County, and “I don’t know if there is really a radius,” but it largely depends on where volunteers are able to transport food. So far, they have served lasagna to homes in Story City,
