Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Whitefish Bay man spreads love 1 lasagna at a time

 

WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Food is a universal way to care for others, and that's the idea behind Lasagna Love.

The non-profit started during the pandemic-- delivering homemade lasagnas to anyone who needed one. Several years later, and it is still going strong. Local cooks are working hard to spread the love.

"First step is meat," said Scott Lamers in his Whitefish Bay kitchen.

Making lasagna is all about repetition.

"Next is the noodles," he said, spreading them out in the pan.

Each layer builds on the next.

"I try to spread it out as much as I can," he said of the ricotta cheese.

Lamers has gotten pretty good at it over the last year.

"I'm probably pushing 30 lasagnas right now," he said with pride.

He's the local leader for Lasagna Love.

"I have definitely learned things about lasagna making," he admitted.  

Lasagna Love is a global movement spreading kindness one pan at a time.  Anyone can go online and ask for one- no questions asked.

"Maybe there's a sickness in the family and they're just overwhelmed. Maybe they're tired. Maybe it's a single parent who's raising kids and they just want a night off, or something," Lamers said.

For Lamers, spreading love through lasagna is personal.

"A while ago, I actually was the recipient of meals from generous neighbors. And it really made an impact on me," he said.

Volunteers donate their time and the ingredients, and deliver it right to someone's front door.

"Ooh, I know it's going to be real good," said Pauline Harrington, standing outside her front door.

This is Harrington's third time getting a Lasagna Love delivery.

 At first, she didn't think it was real but found out quickly that it is.

"They were like, 'I'm outside with your lasagna.' And I went out there and they were really outside," she said of her first delivery. 

With six kids to feed, she said it helps a lot.

"It comes in handy. It saves me a couple of extra dollars for another meal," she said.

And when Lamers pulled up, it was another happy hand-off.

"Here you go," he said, handing off the pan.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Harrington said.

And back home, for Lamers, the process starts all over again.  Spreading love, layer by layer.

"I get to put my heart and soul into making a meal for somebody," he said.

There are 36 volunteer chefs making lasagna for Lasagna Love in the Milwaukee area.

Worldwide, 56,000 volunteers have made over 500,000 lasagnas in the last four years.

If you want to learn more, you can visit Home - Lasagna Love.

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].