A Washington state woman, furloughed from her job, used her stimulus check to make 1,200 pans of free lasagna for those in need.
Michelle Brenner made herself a huge pan of lasagna using her grandmother’s recipe — and quickly realized it was infinitely better than store-bought lasagna she got at the grocery store.
So she made an offer to her Facebook friends…
“If any of you want some fresh homemade, no calorie counting lasagna, please let me know and I will gladly prepare it.”
Brenner set aside her $1,200 stimulus check to buy ingredients, and the requests soon began to trickle in.
Nearly three months and 1,200 pans later, Brenner is still at it, boiling noodles, cooking ground beef, mixing up tomato sauce and layering mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan.
About eight hours a day, seven days a week, she helps feed people in her community — from hospital workers and first responders to single parents struggling without paychecks.
Brenner said nothing brings her more contentment while she is out of work than passing along goodness from her kitchen.
She said, “The world as we know it is falling apart, but my two little hands are capable of making a difference. I can’t change the world, but I can make lasagna.”
One of her neighbors even designed a T-shirt that read, “Lasagna Lady.” The name stuck.
She expects to return to work at some point this summer but said she’ll still make time for lasagna.