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By Carson Shea
Published: Jul. 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM EDT|Updated: 17 hours ago
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Over the last week, dozens of Topeka families haven’t been able to pick up food from pantries around the city.
SER, a federally funded program employing senior volunteers, remains on hold amid federal funding delays.
During the closure, Southside Filling Station has been gearing up to get up and running again.
“We’re happy to report today that we got another order, a big order in,” SENT Topeka founder Johnathan Sublet said. “So we were stocking shelves and really ramping up for this week’s service.”
Senior citizen volunteers in the SER program have been unable to work at the location where they were initially placed.
So, SENT Topeka and other food pantries across the area are working together by “cross-pollinating” their assigned volunteers.
“They can still stay active during this time and engage in the work that they love to do in the help sector,” Sublet said. “So we’re working with other organizations to do that and on how to meet their needs during this time.”
The pantry is now booked for weeks with non-SER volunteers.
“Our community stepped up big time, and we actually have volunteers scheduled out to August,” Sublet said.
It’s all thanks to a sacrifice that isn’t being overlooked.
“It’s important for us to keep that social contact with them,” Sublet said. “Because they were not just lightbulbs that you plug in until they burn out. They’re our friends, our neighbors, and we want them to make sure they know how much we care about them.”
The Southside Filling Station, located at 455 SE Gold Park Blvd., opens Tuesday at 9 a.m.
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