Lord’s Diner a Favorite for PSU Volunteers—But Not Hungry Students

By Blayne Thornton

PITTSBURG, Kansas—Pittsburg State University students who need extra help obtaining meals utilize the Gorilla Pantry but rarely use the Lord’s Diner, another resource for those who need a meal.

Pittsburg State student Meredith Bierbaum, who runs Gorilla Pantry in the Overman Student Center, said the pantry is a valuable resource for those who need help that is located on campus. She said 25 to 30 students use the pantry each week.

Pittsburg State student Zaria Gomez is one of them, usually for household items rather than food items. When asked if she knows about the Lord’s Diner, she answered yes.

“I haven’t gotten meals, but I have volunteered there,” Zaria said.

But what students don’t seem to realize is that the Lord’s Diner is an option for them to eat rather than just to volunteer.

The Lord’s Diner is a food pantry located at 406 N. Locust Street that has been handing out hot meals to all that come to its doors every evening 365 days a year.

The diner’s mission statement, site director Laura Ramsay said, is “to feed anyone who comes to our doors with dignity and respect.” It opened in January 2017, following two others that have open in Wichita for years. Ramsay is in charge of making sure all the necessary food is prepared for those that flock to get a fresh meal.

She said people from all around the surrounding areas will travel to the diner.

“We have families that travel as far as Arma because they have the predicament of having no grocery stores in the town,” Ramsay said.

The diner is operated by volunteer workers from all kinds of people in the community, primarily civic and church organizations and student volunteers from Pittsburg State University.

“We shoot to have at least five volunteers an evening, but at one time, we had over 800 volunteers in our volunteer base,” volunteer coordinator Lisa Russel said. Russel schedules volunteers and makes sure the diner has enough people on staff.

A lot of students at the local college utilize the diner as a great way to get community service hours.

“I think we’re one of the open places where the students can get volunteer hours, so we’ve been inundated with student volunteers the last 3 to 4 months,” Russel said.

Ramsay and Russel both agree that it’s an anomaly that college students never utilize the diner for meals. With the amount of college students that volunteer there, not a single one of them have actually come to the diner to get a meal.

One student volunteer, Parker Jenkins, has been volunteering at the diner for a semester. Being a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, he has given many hours to help hand out meals.

“I’m in charge of coordinating, so I’ll select five guys and then myself and we’ll go to help a great cause,” Jenkins said.

Those who volunteer collectively say the best part of working there is being able to make a difference in the community.

“I like seeing individuals and families come to the diner, knowing they have a meal that is provided for them that they don’t have to worry about or stress about getting food for their families or themselves,” Jenkins said.

Ramsay said the diner has donated over 364,000 meals over its lifespan of five years. And combined with the other two locations, 5,500,000 meals have been served in the state.