The Lord's Diner - Wichita, Kansas
The Diner’s mission is to serve a nutritious meal to anyone who is hungry. There are two dining rooms and three food trucks that serve Wichita.
Victoria - I come here almost every night and the food is very good. There's been times when I went weeks without eating... maybe a granola bar here or there and then I found out about the Lord's Diner and I was like, I'm eating here. I've been homeless for about four months.
Larnell - I just started coming here maybe a month ago, it's a good resource for people in the city. The only thing that helps people out in these situations is that you've got to be willing to move forward, and use the resources to move forward, don't use the resources to, you know, just, squander them because there are people in this city who really need these resources, that really need help.
I never lived like this before, just, I'm on a journey from God. I always had the finest things in life and now it's time for me to start over. This time God wants me to start over and to basically do everything obedient in the legal aspect. That's where I'm at. I was once on my high horse. I did things in the street but now it's time for me to do things legally, that's where I had to start all the way over. Because God's got a purpose for me and he's got a plan for me, so he's going to help me, but at the same time he wants me to do it natural, to be a law abiding citizen.
Krista and Eva - We usually come here a couple of times a week. My daughter likes the guy helping. My husband and I were both unemployed, both of us from October to January. He just started working and I just started working as a substitute teacher.
Trent - It's amazing what they do here. It's great, it helps the whole community really. They've fed my family several times. A lot of my family and a lot of my friends are suffering. There are a lot of homeless people living under bridges and they pretty much count on this. I do construction but my boss right now is not working me or anybody else, so it really helps.
Lynne - Volunteer
Being a nurse and then semi-retiring to help take my parents and then retiring because of that, I wanted to give back, I felt this was a good way to do it. I feel that we are very fortunate when we can open our refrigerator and we have food in there. Everybody here is such a good team and here for the right reasons, so it makes it really enjoyable as well as fulfilling. One of the basic needs is that everybody should have a nice warm meal. I think we take so much for granted and this puts everything into perspective.
Tom - Volunteer
This is my fourth year of volunteering here. We have a good volunteer team here, kind of like a family. It's like our family is fixing a meal for the community's family, that's how I kind of look at it. This is our own little family here and it's like we're doing a family-style meal for a thousand and some people. Yesterday we served 1,375 meals. When I tell people that when I just got home, they will often ask, “what were you doing?” I'll tell them, "I was fixing dinner for 1,300 people." They ask how long did that take?..."oh, 3-4 hours because we have a really good team."
David - Volunteer
I retired a year ago and I volunteer three days a week. I volunteer to give back to the community, to help out people who need help. We've been blessed my wife and I with good careers, healthy family and I'm just wanting to help people out.
Steve - Volunteer
The misconception is that people want a free ride. Once you work here you realize that there are people hurting. You see them out there sleeping on the streets, they're not out for a free ride, they're just hurting, they've got issues in their lives and sometimes you don't realize it. I came out of the aerospace industry and a lot of people in the aerospace industry think these people just want a handout, no, they just want a hand.
Jan - Volunteer
I love coming in here, it's the highlight of my week.
I'm not independently wealthy, I don't have a lot of money to give, and my time, my energy, and my work is something that I can give. When I first started, I came in the evening, so I served, I did everything from helping people to carry trays, to refill coffee cups and ice tea cups. You see these people and we're all God's children, and there but for the grace of god, go I. It may sound hokey and cliched, but true, that's what I feel. I believe that none of us is any better than anybody else.