HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Vicki Latham in Hopkinsville was looking for a way to help families, and for an outlet for her love of cooking. She is now a volunteer for Lasagna Love and hand delivers home cooked lasagna to whoever needs one.

“We contact them and let them know who we are, find out when they want their lasagna, and plan accordingly. It’s pretty simple,” Latham said.

The basic act of sharing a warm meal and spreading kindness is part of the national nonprofit’s mission. Lasagna Love began during the pandemic and has recently started to take off in the Hopkinsville area.

“I’ve been trying to do something similar to this for the past two years, I just didn’t know how to go about doing it,” Latham said. After being on disability for a while and spending a lot of time acting as a caretaker for her husband, she had been unable to find volunteer opportunities she could commit to.

How Latham got involved

By chance, Latham met up with the Lasagna Love local leader, Niki Bennett, in a plant share group. After talking, she realized the nonprofit organization was a perfect fit for her.

“Niki and I just happened to be talking … and that’s how it all started. It was only her and one other friend that were volunteering for all of Western Kentucky,” Latham said.

After being signed up with the nonprofit for only a week, she immediately got two requests for lasagnas, and she got cooking. Vicki soon learned that there was a massive number of requests pending in the Hopkinsville area, with around 200 people wanting lasagna.

Since then, Vicki has been spreading the word on social media to help get even more people in Hopkinsville involved. She says that in less than a month, they have more than doubled in size.

“Because I made those posts, we are now at seven volunteers, with five more that are filling out the paperwork,” Latham said. “The more volunteers we can get, especially in other counties, will make a big difference.”

For more, go to the Lasagna Love website.

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