Breakfast at the Red Awning Cafe

On any given weekday morning, mosey into the Red Awning Cafe and you'll find a crew of three or four volunteers pouring cold cereal, greeting students and washing dishes.  If it's a Wednesday morning, they'll be flipping pancakes; regular, blueberry or chocolate chip.

The food is free, the diners are students and the volunteers are members of the . The crowd runs anywhere from 70 to 150 kids on a typical morning.

The name came from the red awnings that shade the windows of the church's meeting room where the food is served. The church's proximity to the middle school — it's across the street — makes it a logical place for students to come before school.

Scott Henning, who playfully declares his title is El Pastor, leads the church but is quick to point out there is no proselytising at breakfast. "Every morning the kids get a bit of the Good News," he says pointing out small triangles of paper with spiritual messages on them.  "But we don't preach."

This week, all the breakfasts will be hot because of testing.  The Thursday volunteer crew will make breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs and cheese and sausage or any combination of the three.

Deja Tillman, a sixth-grade student at Benicia Middle School, is a regular at the Red Awning.  "I come here every day," she said.  "Most of the time it's to talk to my friends, but I like the food, too.  Especially on Wednesday."  Deja said her favorite pancakes are the blueberry.

The breakfast also is a way to honor people. "We're doing a memorial breakfast for a teacher's dad on May 9," said Henning.  "We expect a lot of kids for that one."

 It is the norm rather than the exception that the kids are well behaved. "In three years we've had one time where we had to intervene," said Henning. There is a lot of talking but it's quiet, allowing those who are taking one last crack at homework assignments to concentrate.

The quietest table by far is the one populated exclusively by eighth graders. They eat intently and all of them have books open, pencils in hand and seem to be discussing an algebra assignment.

Henning's goal is for the kids to have a safe place to eat and socialize before school. "All the different grades come in," he said. "Different groups hang out."

"See that kid sitting alone?" he asked.  "He's a skater.  That's the skater table.  His buddies just haven't gotten here yet." 

The table closest to the kitchen is packed at 7:45 a.m. There are 12 kids sitting at a table designed for six, talking, laughing, eating and doing last-minute homework.  At 8 a.m. the same table is empty. 

By 8:15, the Red Awning Cafe is empty save for El Pastor, who is wiping down the tables while the volunteers in the back are finishing up the dishes.

The Red Awning is occasionally open for dinner.  "Some of the middle-school teachers were saying that on school open-house night they had to go downtown for dinner," said Henning.   "By the time they got back, all the parking spots were taken by parents. So we decided to make dinner for the teachers each year when the school has open house."

Henning see's the church's relationship with the schools as an integral part of its role in the community.  "If we don't have the reputation of loving our community then we don't have the reputation Jesus wants us to have," he said.