It’s an all-too-familiar story during the coronavirus pandemic. A woman arrives at her retail job only to hear that she is out of work. Many would respond with a sense of self-pity, but her reaction has been an inspiration to thousands. Like many of us, Michelle Brenner, who worked at a menswear store, first turned to comfort food—using her grandmother’s special recipe, she made a huge pan of lasagna.

Then, she offered to go grocery shopping for some friends and was dismayed that they had added frozen lasagnas to their lists. Her culinary mind screamed, “This just won’t do at all!”. It was then that she realized she could put some smiles on some faces in Gig Harbor, Washington. The Italian-American posted on Facebook, letting her friends and neighbors know that she could whip up some homemade goodness for them—all they had to do was ask, and come by to pick it up.