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"Ladybird, Collected" Tells How A Tiny Lawrence Diner Changed During The Pandemic

By Steve Kraske,

Published October 5, 2020 at 5:15 PM CDT

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Meg Heriford outside her Ladybird Diner. From the middle of March to the end of July, the diner in Lawrence served over 13,000 free lunches and gave out hundreds of grocery boxes to community members in need.

Feeding those in need has always been in the eatery's business plan but the pandemic caused owner Meg Heriford to convert it to a full-time community kitchen.

Heriford details the story in a new book of her essays called "Ladybird, Collected." Her plan is to put 100% of the proceeds from the book back into feeding community members.

Meg Heriford, owner at Ladybird Diner and author, "Ladybird, Collected"

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Up To Date Talk Show Lawrence food insecurity food pantry Coronavirus author Books

Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Mackenzie Martin

Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.

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