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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Fairfield Women’s Club to host Lasagna Luncheon on March 3
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FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield Women’s Club will hold its annual Lasagna Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, the first of five fundraisers the group has planned for 2026.
As always, the event will be at the historic McElhinny House at 300 N. Court St., which the women’s club is responsible for maintaining. This year is also a milestone year for the house, which turns 175 years old. The women’s club purchased the building in 1931, and have been holding meetings there ever since 1933.
The luncheon will feature dine-in, carry-out and delivery options, with a choice of meat or vegetable lasagna plus a green salad, breadsticks and a dessert of either white cake, chocolate cake, lemon bar or brownie. Orders can be placed by calling 641-472-3241.
The club will prepare about 300 meals, anticipating 175 of those to be delivered, and 90-100 of them to be dine-in and the rest carry-out. Club member Julie Johnston said the club’s fundraisers took a hit when the pandemic struck, but sales have been climbing higher each year to the point where the group’s fundraisers are generating pre-pandemic revenues of about $5,000.
Feeding 300 people is a massive undertaking, and requires an army of 8-10 women who will work all day Monday, March 2 chopping vegetables before a full morning of baking on March 3. The day of the meal itself will feature 20 club members participating, many of whom will use ovens in their own home to bake the lasagnas, speeding up the process. A team of six delivery drivers will transport the meals throughout town.
The club has purchased 60 pounds of meat, 36 pounds of noodles and 25-dozen breadsticks for the luncheon. Johnston said the club made 13 large pans and 10 small pans of lasagna last year, which was enough to feed all the customers, but sadly there was no food leftover for the “worker bees” who put it all together. This year, the club will make a few more pans to ensure that the chefs can at least enjoy their own cooking.
Money from the luncheon will go toward putting the finishing touches on a newly remodeled bathroom in the McElhinny House’s first floor, now ADA-accessible. The club’s fundraisers, and community grants, have allowed it to preserve in tip-top shape one of the oldest structures in town. Just last year, a grant from the Greater Jefferson County Foundation helped pay for two new refrigerators, a freezer, and 50 chairs for the dining room. The grant paid for 85 percent of the cost of these items. Club member Jeanie Belgarde said the new appliances have really cut the club’s utility bill.
The McElhinny House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. To maintain this jewel of Fairfield, the club organizers five fundraisers per year. The next will be a spring bazaar with easter baskets in April, followed by a plant sale and cookie walk in May. Fundraisers will resume in November with the Election Day soup and pie luncheon, and the last one of the year is the Christmas bazaar in December.
The Fairfield Women’s Club boasts 63 members, and its regular luncheon meetings draw 30-35 ladies. The person hired to take care of the property as the house manager is Christina Noerenberg, who has been in the position for nearly two years.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
