FAIRVIEW, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nearly 500 families across Middle Tennessee are on a wait list for a home-cooked lasagna from Lasagna Love volunteers, highlighting a growing need for food assistance in the region.
The organization connects volunteers who make lasagnas with people who might be in need. With 481 families currently on the wait list and only 189 volunteers in Middle Tennessee, the average wait time to receive a lasagna has stretched to nearly two months.
Casey Wilson has been volunteering with Lasagna Love for three years, making lasagnas in her Williamson County kitchen. Her journey with the organization began with her own family.
"My mom was on hospice care at home and we as a family were just having a difficult time trying to organize everything with mom," Wilson said.
That's when she signed up to receive help from Lasagna Love.
"Having an extra meal for us not to have to think about was very beneficial and someone told me about this organization and I signed up and within two days, there was a lasagna on my front porch," Wilson said.
The organization provides lasagnas to people facing various challenges, whether financial, emotional or other circumstances. Wilson said it takes about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes to make each lasagna from start to finish.
Recent data from Lasagna Love shows the growing demand for assistance. Statewide, nearly 1,300 families in Tennessee are on the wait list, with nearly half of those requests coming in just the last four weeks.
"I think there's a lot of placing blame right now on the situation that we're in as Americans going back and forth and I feel like all that at the end of the day doesn't matter when we have neighbors that are doing without," Wilson said.
"I have met so many people that are in different stages of their life, whether it's just they've hit a hardship or they're emotionally drained, physically drained and I keep doing this because they've never not needed me," she added.
For Wilson, volunteering is a way to honor her mother's memory and help others the way her family was helped during a difficult time.
"I know that if she had known about this organization, she would have given back," Wilson said.
You're able to volunteer based on a schedule that works for you as well. Wilson says you can volunteer weekly, monthly, or as often as you can.
If you're interested in volunteering, click here.
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