Employees at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center are marking this Valentine’s Day by “sharing a little Mira love” by partnering with the Massachusetts chapter of Lasagna Love to make and deliver homemade meals to families in the Greater Holyoke and Springfield area.
“Lasagna Love volunteers provide a meal to a family in need for whatever reason in their communities,” said Kimberley Lee, MiraVista’s Chief of Creative Strategy and Development. “Our employees elected to partner with this nonprofit and, for those who were available to help, spent time on February 13th with Paula Dalzovo, MiraVista’s Food Service Director, making pans of lasagna that will be delivered to families who request such help from Lasagna Love.”
She added that Lasagna Love’s caring mission resonated with MiraVista’s staff who help adults and adolescents to live their best lives.
Lasagna Love began with the vision of Rhiannon Menn. A mom and an MIT Sloan graduate with Berkshire County ties, Menn wanted to comfort families struggling during the pandemic and, based on what she had on hand, decided to offer a hot lasagna to anyone who would like one through a neighborhood Facebook group.
Four years later, Lasagna Love is a nonprofit with chapters across the United States, as well as in Australia and Canada, and is estimated to have impacted 1.6 million lives through its network exceeding 48,000 volunteers.
“We are up to 31,000 lasagnas feeding a 120,000 people in the last three years in Massachusetts and still second to only California in the program’s reach,” said Andrea Scullin, Lasagna Love’s volunteer Regional Director for Massachusetts and the State of New York. “People love helping people and take food insecurity seriously when they read someone just had a baby and is experiencing postpartum depression or has lost their job or is dealing with being overwhelmed. We can put each other in those shoes because just as easily this could be us.”
The volunteers who make a meal deliver it to the doorstep of a recipient provided by Lasagna Love and usually do so without meeting the recipient but alerting them by text to its arrival.
“People are appreciative and the contactless delivery reduces any stigma of asking for help,” Scullin said.
The Lasagna Love volunteers are referred to as “lasagna chefs” and can sign up to make a meal once or on a more regular basis.
Scullin said any lasagna chef is much appreciated, but she noted that when an organization coordinates volunteers it “helps a lot.” She added there is more demand in Massachusetts for meals than the current number of volunteers, especially in the Greater Springfield Area, can provide.
“In any given week we have 200 to 300 families on our waiting list in Massachusetts,” Scullin said. “Springfield-Holyoke is one of the areas where we cannot help families immediately so the fact that MiraVista employees are raising their hand to help is going to help that area immensely.”
Scullin was an early chef for Lasagna Love in 2020 and then a local leader and then regional director who was recognized for her Lasagna Love volunteer work before thousands of baseball fans at Fenway Park in July.
“I can’t control war, inflation, poverty, but I can help in this way and that is where I get satisfaction,” Scullin said. “I can’t do a lot in solving the big picture problems but I can help folks get a meal on their table.”
A single mom who works fulltime in the mental health care field, Scullin said her volunteer work “does take quite a bit of time” but that she enjoys “being busy and helping people.”
“I get as much out of it as I put in,” Scullin said. “And I do like to cook.”
To volunteer for Lasagna Love, request a meal, or learn more, visit https://lasagnalove.org/.
For more information about MiraVista Behavioral Health Center’s inpatient psychiatric treatment and outpatient substance use programming, visit https://www.miravistabhc.care/
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MiraVista Behavioral Health Center opened in April of 2021 in Holyoke, Mass. MiraVista offers psychiatric care services for both adults and adolescents, as well as an array of recovery treatment programs including outpatient services such as substance use individual and group counseling, day and evening Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), court-ordered services, and outpatient Medication Supported Recovery and Massachusetts Impaired Driving programs.
MiraVista cares for thousands of individuals from across New England. MiraVista’s purpose is to provide effective, inspiring care for those challenged by mental health and substance use so they are empowered to lead fulfilling lives.