Coming off of its 40th birthday, Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen continues to serve free meals four times a week, but it’s facing a 286% cost increase to continue using space in the basement of First Christian Church.
Despite the financial challenges, LINK will stay put, said Amy Carlson, LINK board president.
Carlson said she was presented an annual lease renewal in mid-December by LINK’s host site, First Christian Church at 10th and Kentucky streets.
The church has proposed a cost increase in usage fees to be gradually phased in over the course of 2025. LINK’s cost to use the site would increase from $350 to $1,350 a month. Annually, the fee would rise from $4,200 in 2024 to $16,200 in 2026.
Carlson declined to sign the lease and still hasn’t. Despite that, LINK and its partners — including First Christian Church — have been working together to find a solution. Carlson said LINK’s 10-member board would meet Tuesday to discuss how to come to a lease agreement with the church.
LINK supporters agree it’s in the best interest of their guests to remain at the current downtown location, and all are committed to keeping LINK at First Christian Church, she said.
“We’ve been assured that we will,” Carlson said.
The lease, which applies to the basement area where LINK donors serve up about 500 free, no-questions-asked meals a week to anyone who’s hungry, sets LINK’s monthly payment to reimburse First Christian Church for costs associated with running the site. It contains a full kitchen, a serving area, storage, restrooms, a small office, a lending library and a large dining area.
Operating costs to provide one LINK meal are $2.18, according to Carlson, but the total cost of a meal is about $9.27. The remaining $7.09 is provided via food and time donations from more than 300 volunteers and a small staff. Three part-time employees who each work about eight hours a week support LINK when it’s fully staffed.
The rise in usage fees would amount to an increase in operating costs of 28%, Carlson said.
In a February article about LINK’s 40th birthday, Carlson said attendance at LINK had grown about 25% during the last year.
On Sunday, LINK volunteers met to discuss how to address the financial challenge. Representatives from the donor groups that support LINK were invited to attend. The meeting was closed to news media and other members of the public.
Carlson said about 40 people attended.
A letter from the church’s Leadership Team shared at the meeting addressed the increase. An attendee provided a photographed copy of a portion of the letter. Church leaders do not view the monthly fees as rent, according to the letter.
“Rather, they help to offset the various additional expenses, especially the cost of utilities, that FCC incurs in hosting this mission,” the letter reads. “After a review by church leadership, and in light of rapidly increasing utility costs, it was apparent that the $350 per month that LINK pays to FCC is no longer adequate to cover their share of these expenses. FCC is no longer in a position to absorb these costs on our own, thus the need for this increase.”
First Christian is one of 15 congregations and other community groups that donate and serve LINK meals regularly. Church leaders open the letter by saying, “First Christian Church (FCC) has been glad to serve as the host church for LINK for nearly forty years, and we hope to be able to continue to do so. We value the mission of LINK and our relationship with the ministry.”
That hope permeated Sunday’s meeting, according to Carlson, as attendees discussed LINK’s 40-year legacy and its importance to the Lawrence community.
Carlson said LINK isn’t just a place where a free meal is offered. It’s a place where people feel like they belong. And it’s a stabilizer that helps anyone who needs help meeting their basic needs. The entire community benefits from that, she said.
“I don’t think that it’s really correct to say, ‘Oh, well, you know, the churches can handle that.’ Everyone needs to help,” Carlson said.
Attendees also talked about the economic realities of today, where food and energy costs are rising, while statistics show young people attend fewer religious services than seniors each month. As congregants age, their income decreases, leading to fewer dollars in donation plates.
Each group that serves and donates to LINK is unique, Carlson said. They vary in size and resources. Like First Christian Church, they might already have reached their capacity to support LINK, Carlson said, and she can’t ask them to contribute more than they’re able.
To that end, LINK is asking the public to help “bridge the gap” if they’re able. Visit this link to donate to LINK via PayPal or this link to donate through the Douglas County Community Foundation.
We reached out to First Christian Church via email to ask whether the church had proposed to raise rent or requested additional funds from The Giving Tree Preschool or any of the church’s other ministries.
Rev. Barry M. Foster, First Christian Church senior pastor, replied, “The statement you received from an unnamed source was provided to the LINK board to share with their supporters, including us, who were invited to meet with the board in a private meeting. I have attached a copy of that statement for you. Since we do not share the content of private communication with the public, we have no further statement to make. We would encourage anyone in our community who is interested in supporting LINK to contact them for ways that they could help.”
To learn more about LINK, visit its website at linklawrence.org.
LINK meals are served at 1 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 221 W. 10th St. All are welcome.
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Tricia Masenthin (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at tmasenthin (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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