Showing community love and support

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

Neighbors 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.”

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,

Nevada, Huxley, Colo, Jewell, Madrid, Luther and Boone. They also make the lasagna to order, when possible, for certain diet restrictions or allergies.

“We’ve made gluten-free lasagna, meat-free lasagna, lasagna with no onions, and if lasagna is not possible, we could even make a rice casserole if someone asked and couldn’t have gluten or cheese,” Kruger said.

At the end of the day, she just wants to ensure no one, be it a large family, an elderly resident or a college student, goes hungry, she said.

“In San Diego, people are lining up for help. In Iowa, we’ve gotten a problem where people don’t say when they need help. Their neighbors will nominate them, but they won’t nominate themselves,” she said. “Everyone seems to think, ‘oh, someone might have it harder than me so I don’t need it,’ but I want those people to know that it’s okay for them to have help too.” People in need of a meal can contact Lasagna Love at https:// www.begoodtomama.com/lasagnalove.

Kruger is the main organizer of Ames’ Lasagna Love initiative, but said she wouldn’t be able to do any of it without the volunteers who have stepped up to help out — local residents including Marnie Johansen and her daughter Amara, Erin McGlothlin Selsby, Amy Svacina-Benz, Bridgette Hare and Jessica Fears.

She also credits two of her youngest volunteers, her daughters, 7-year-old Coraline and 15-year-old Aurelia. Kruger said she hopes being a part of Lasagna Love will help further their “perspective, empathy and compassion for others.” “I believe in being a good human, that’s the motto I teach my children,” Kruger said. “Part of that is taking care of our community, taking care of each other, and that’s what this means to me. It’s doing my part, and if I am in a position to help then I am going to help.

“There’s a widely-circulated phrase by Mister Rogers, to ‘look for the helpers,’ and, well, I have a 7-year-old, and we talked about how we’re being helpers.”

Kruger said she does not know how long Lasagna Love will last — will it disappear when the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a memory, or will it continue to grow and spread nationwide? Either way, she said, the group of community members who are taking part will be there for as long as they’re needed.

“I don’t know what the future holds for it. Maybe it will continue, but that depends on how long there is a need and how long there are people out there who have time and are willing to keep helping,” she said. “But for now, we are at least filling the gap.”

BROOKE KRUGER’S 7-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER CORALINE HELPS MAKE LASAGNA AS PART

OF AMES’ LASAGNA LOVE INITIATIVE. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

PANS OF LASAGNA LINE THE COUNTERTOP AND ARE READY TO BE DELIVERED. BROOKE KRUGER, OF AMES, STARTED A GROUP TO DONATE PANS OF LASAGNA TO

STORY COUNTY FAMILIES. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BROOKE KRUGER’S 7-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER CORALINE HELPS MAKE LASAGNA AS PART OF AMES’ LASAGNA LOVE INITIATIVE.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO FACETS | JULY 2020 | 7