Cooking, a calling, and service to others - Lasagna Love brings food and comfort to thousands | KD Sunday Spotlight

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - To Desarae Legros cooking comes with a calling. 

"I was running multiple restaurants and I always loved the grill line," said Legros.

Nowadays it happens at her home and not at work. After a couple of bad falls, Legros underwent five surgeries in fourteen months which made her currently disabled, but at her lowest point, Legros wanted to help others. So, she googled non-profits and found Lasagna Love in Pittsburgh.

"It woke up a spirit and a passion inside of me that I lost when I lost my ability to walk," Legros said.

She can walk just enough to cook now and through the non-profit she makes a lasagna for a neighbor going through tough times.

It doesn't matter what the reason is for needing a homecooked lasagna, be it the loss of a family member, food insecurity, or even medical emergencies. What matters is it's an anonymous person making you a hearty, heartfelt, family meal for free.

"Lasagna Love has changed my life," said Legros. 

It started with Legros' first Lasagna Love recipient. She said after delivering the home-cooked lasagna she got a message and "she told me how delicious it was and she and her family could have a meal made by somebody else with love, how touching that was and I sobbed like a baby."

Now more than two years in with volunteering with Lasagna Love, she's bettered so many of her neighbor's lives.

"I can only hope thousands, but even if it's just one, that's good," she said.

The non-profit started during the pandemic. Now it's impacted more than 4,000 Pittsburgh families with the help of 50 chefs.

Andria Larson started Lasagna Love and it is active in every state in America and a few international locations too. 

"We're doing a lot of deep impact within the community in Western Pennsylvania, specifically the Pittsburgh area and we're not stopping," Larson said, "we're just bringing back kindness and connectedness through a pan of lasagna and letting people know that they're not alone during these times."

It's casseroles of love that are spreading a ripple effect of kindness. 

"People cry upon the deliveries," Larson said. "Not just those who are receiving, but those who are giving, because they know they're making a very big impact that is extraordinarily lasting." 

For Legros, this non-profit means so much more.

"I was a foster kid and one of the ways that I was controlled was through food - that encompassed what my love language was going to be my whole life," she said. "Now the world needs love more than anything and it's an honor to be a part of such a beautiful organization and to know that I may just be helping that kid that's having a really hard time."

She found a calling to give back and inspire others through cooking videos on her social media Cooking Comedy Chaos.

"It's truly led me to where I'm supposed to be in life and that's helping others," said Legros. 

Like lasagna, this neighbor-to-neighbor movement will be here for many tasty layers for years to come.

Lasagna Love is so big it even expanded in Pittsburgh, with a Home Chef Throwdown competition and a Lasagna–thon. 

Lasagna Love has its next event scheduled in Pittsburgh for July 27th at the Great Allegheny Passage - Whisett. They will feed 1,000 individuals with lasagna.

If you want to volunteer to make lasagna for your neighbor in need, you can go to this link for the non-profit's website.

If you would like to see an organization highlighted in KDKA's Sunday Spotlight segment, send Megan Shinn an email at mshinn@kdka.com!