For nearly a decade, Books & Breakfast has served as a trusted neighborhood space where food, literacy, and community care come together.
What may appear to be a simple Saturday morning gathering is, in reality, the product of years of grassroots organizing, volunteer commitment, and a shared belief that communities must often build for themselves.
Children arrive early — often with parents — and are welcomed with a hot breakfast in a space that feels more like family than formality. The menu changes monthly, depending on donations, but the goal remains the same: start the day with a meal.
After breakfast comes storytime.
At a recent event, longtime volunteer and program organizer TaDonna Neal read “Ruby Finds a Worry,” turning the story into an interactive experience by asking questions and inviting responses.
“What do you think she’s worried about?” she asked.
Hands went up. Answers came — family, fears, feelings.
The story became a conversation, helping children connect emotions to words. By the end, the message was clear — and repeated by the children themselves: talk about it.
That interaction — children thinking, speaking, engaging — is at the heart of Books & Breakfast, and why parents keep coming.
One mother, who has attended for about a year, said the program has helped change how her children see reading.
“I have a couple of kids that don’t like to read,” she said. “Actually, by coming here… they’re starting to enjoy it more.”
She said the experience goes beyond books.
“Letting the kids be able to have a choice of books and just socialize and learn,” she said.
At the end of every event, each child selects a book to take home — something they can read again and again, building confidence and familiarity along the way.
That simple step extends the impact beyond Saturday morning.
It helps build comfort with reading — turning it into something children recognize, enjoy, and return to.
Built Over Time, Sustained by Commitment
The program didn’t just come together — it was built, step by step, by people committed to meeting real needs in their community.
Among them is Antar Gholar, whose role has been vital to the growth and consistency of the program, even though he has often preferred to work behind the scenes.
In an interview, Gholar traced part of the story back to his own grassroots outreach on the North Side.
What began as Pants & Pancakes started with hot breakfast, donated clothing, folding tables, and a desire to meet immediate neighborhood needs.
“We just went outside and did it,” Gholar said, describing the early days of serving families in front of his home and later in neighborhood parks.
That grassroots spirit eventually merged with a broader organizing vision.
According to organizer Durell Gilmore, part of the framework began taking shape during the summer of 2017 into 2018 through his work with the Poor People’s Campaign.
During that time, local organizers were discussing how national movements often fail to meet urgent neighborhood needs.
That conversation helped shape a local response rooted in direct service and empowerment.
Drawing inspiration from historic community breakfast programs, Books & Breakfast was built around the idea that immediate needs and long-term growth can be addressed together.
A meal meets hunger.
A book opens imagination.
A trusted space builds community.
Longtime volunteers such as Neal, who has served for nearly seven to eight years, have been instrumental in maintaining the consistency that families now rely on.
CORE members, community elders, sponsors, churches, local authors, and neighborhood supporters have all helped sustain the work — many contributing their time, energy, and resources with little outside funding.
That collective commitment is what has allowed the program to continue — month after month, year after year.
Why It Matters — And What’s Needed Next
After nearly a decade, Books & Breakfast is not only a breakfast program.
It is a people-powered model of trust, literacy, and neighborhood restoration on Wichita’s North Side.
For families, the impact shows up in small but meaningful ways.
The mother who attends regularly said she encourages others to come, but understands the challenge of getting children up and out on a Saturday morning.
Still, she believes more families would benefit, and become regulars, if they gave it a try.
Children who first attended years ago are now returning as teenagers and young adults.
Some bring younger siblings.
Others return simply because the space has become part of their story.
That continuity may be the clearest sign of impact.
The next Books & Breakfast gathering will take place Saturday, April 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Build & Rebuild.
Families are encouraged to come as they are.
Breakfast will be ready.
A story will be waiting.
And every child will leave with a book — and a reason to come back.
