Local restaurant in need of donations to help feed the hungry in Lincoln

Lulu’s on N street is a walk–up restaurant in downtown Lincoln located on the corner of 14th and N streets.

The eatery relies on donations to help feed the hungry and less fortunate in the capital city.

“We have a community meal program, for a five dollar donation, that gets a meal for anybody. We have a system where we hang tickets in the front window when we have enough to offer a meal,” said Lulu’s owner Karen Lamb.

Lamb says the summer months are much better for business than the cold season, which makes collecting donations right now more difficult.

“When it’s this cold we see an increase in traffic for especially the homeless population. But we feed people that aren’t necessarily homeless. Maybe just people who are out of a job for a time, or are just struggling to make ends meet. But again, when it’s cold like this, it makes everything harder,” said Lamb.

Lamb says currently, there are no tickets at the window for hungry people in need of a meal, which is why she is asking for the community’s help.

She says it’s normal for her small business to make over 200 meals a week for the hungry.

“I very rarely say no if someone comes up even if we don’t have the donations. But the reality is I have bills to pay as well and so in order to continue helping, we need some help,” said Lamb.

Even the smallest donations come in handy.

Karen puts all of the donations into a pot, and once five dollars is raised, a ticket goes up on the window for whoever needs one.

“Even 50 cents or a dollar, if 100 people gave a dollar, that would be 20 meals,” said Lamb.

Looking ahead to this summer, Lamb says she will be transitioning Lulu’s into a nonprofit that will become a pay as you can location for everyone, even doing away with menu prices.

“The hope is, when you do that, the people who can pay, will pay more, which will support the people who can’t pay,” said Lamb.

Lamb says the best two ways to donate are to come to the window at 14th and N street or to simply mail a check in to 1417 N St, Lincoln, NE 68508.