From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 12, 1986:

The Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen (LINK) had served about 17,500 free meals since its inception on Feb. 14, 1985. The kitchen had been located first in the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church; it had moved in August to the First Christian Church at 10th and Kentucky. During the previous month, 1,005 people had eaten at LINK. Local church groups took turns preparing and serving the meals to a variety of guests. Kitchen supervisor Cathie Murren said that she had seen some homeless people, some families with children whose main provider had been laid off, a few people who were “just passing through town,” and even a few university students wanting to “come down and having a balanced meal.” One of the homeless men who spoke to the reporter said that the free meals at LINK were his major source of food and “the difference between life and death.” Another, a man who had come to Lawrence about six years earlier to attend graduate school, said that his homeless state was “in part, by choice.” “I never dreamed I’d be living in this style,” he explained. “I want to continue it for a while, although I get very weary of it. I’m on a spiritual quest and it is easier for me to live this way.”