photo by: Contributed Photo

Alexander Hurt, Becca Carr, Kianti Vann and Scott Eteeyan help make meals on Dec. 25 for the Ladybird Diner's free lunch program.

Since its release in October, Meg Heriford’s book “Ladybird, Collected” has been purchased more than 3,000 times, and it was this year’s top-selling book at a local bookstore.

Heriford, the owner of Ladybird Diner, said the sales from the book would help the diner continue its free meal program — which the diner started at the beginning of the pandemic — through February and possibly into March. Ladybird Diner offers free meals to those in need at 11:30 a.m. Mondays through Fridays.

“Ladybird, Collected” is a compilation of social media posts from Heriford’s six years running the diner. It includes profiles of people who have worked there and eaten there and stories about Heriford’s experiences owning a small business. Each book costs $24.99 and helps pay for four meals.

Heriford said the response the book has gotten from the community has been “overwhelming.”

“It’s so reassuring to know that people care that people have enough to eat,” she said. “Perfect strangers looking out for each other — I mean, that’s what we need right now. It certainly keeps us pushing forward.”

photo by: Contributed Photo

Employees prepare free grab-and-go meals for the community at Ladybird Diner in downtown Lawrence.

Heriford sold around 2,700 copies of the book through the diner itself, and an additional 843 copies have been sold through The Raven Book Store, which made it the bookstore’s most popular title of the year.

Heriford said she was surprised to hear her book was The Raven’s most popular this year, and she commended the bookstore staff for helping get the word out. She has a broad base of people who love to eat, she said, and The Raven has a broad base of people who love to read.

Danny Caine, owner of The Raven, said he expected “Ladybird, Collected” would become the bookstore’s best-selling book of all time sometime in 2021. It is currently behind another local restaurant book: “Paradise Cafe and Bakery Cookbook,” by Missy McCoy. After The Raven covers employee and material costs for the sale of the books, the proceeds are all donated to Ladybird, Caine said.

photo by: Contributed Photo

Slices of pie and copies of “Ladybird Collected” are pictured from Ladybird Diner in downtown Lawrence.

Like many books on Caine’s top-selling list this year, “Ladybird, Collected” is a response to one of this year’s crises, he said. Not only is it a good book in its own right, Caine said, but people are also apt to buy it because they want to support the free meal program.

“People are going to read it and love it and recommend it to their friends,” he said.

photo by: Lauren Fox

Ladybird Diner owner Meg Heriford is pictured in her restaurant on Oct. 7. Her book, “Ladybird, Collected,” is scheduled to come out on Oct. 9.