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San Antonio's 'Lasagna Love' needs more cooks in the kitchen

The food benevolence of Lasagna Love has more requests than people to prepare and deliver food to those who need it.

SAN ANTONIO — Some like it, and others like it frozen. Kathleen Tritchler tries to accommodate from her San Antonio kitchen.

"You are serving your community and helping people without any questions asked," Tritchler said.

The 65-year-old retired dental hygienist joined Lasagna Love in April 2022. Now, she's the San Antonio area leader.

"You can't always think somebody else is going to do it," she said. "Because a lot of times you're---the somebody else."

The movement turned organization was born during the pandemic in California. Rhiannon Menn started helping families in her community struggling by giving them a home-cooked meal that got delivered. She called it Lasagna Love.

Menn's act of giving in 2020 caught on. Lasagna Love went global with volunteers buying ingredients, cooking Lasagna and other requested entrees like enchiladas and tuna casserole, and delivering them to anyone asking. 

According to Tritchler, she was looking for volunteer opportunities in AARP and discovered the 501c3.

"So I started just by volunteering, getting a match, cooking, and delivering," she said.  

The wife and mother of two likes to cook, so this mission was right down her alley. Concerned about her first delivery, she brought her husband along.

"Where I was going, what kind of neighborhood I was going into, and such," she said.

Tritchler said the organization allows volunteers to set boundaries like how many entrees a month and how far they are willing to drive for delivery. 

San Antonio has roughly 64 volunteers. On average, Tritchler said, 10-15 get matched with volunteers weekly. She said they currently have 165 requests and counting.

"We have a lot more requests every week than we do chefs to fulfill those requests," Tritchler said. "There's a ton of requests sort of southeast and west of like downtown."

She said Lasagna Love in San Antonio needs more volunteers, especially those willing to deliver in areas of need.

The food drops are hugely contactless. Tritchler said this is not a hug, smile, and thank you operation. It is giving and receiving.

"They put in a request because there was a need, and I'm for fulfilling it," she said. "That's where you get your satisfaction."

The requests are handled over the phone or via text. And the San Antonio leader said they don't assume everyone asking for their services is food insecure.

"I delivered to mom that had a couple of children already," Tritchler said. "She was pregnant with twins and was having a c-section." 

But food insecurity is a huge part of what she does. She said families are looking for their next meal but still need to figure out where to get it.

"They're hungry, and the kids are hungry, and they don't know where their next meal is coming from," Tritchler said. "Those really touched my heart."

Tritchler said she's more than 50 lasagnas into the organization. Sometimes to requesters who like the food hot, and others want it frozen to warm it at their leisure. Then, some like it cooked without meat or specific cheeses or even prefer a vegetable version. Lasagna Love tries to cater to the request.

But the cheesy noodled love is getting harder to get out without extra hands.

On average, nationally, the organization delivers 3,500 meals a week with the help of 35,000 volunteers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Australia.

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