Black Feast Week returns to feed restaurants new diners, combat hunger in Kansas City
October 8, 2025 | Taylor Wilmore
Opening Black Feast Week — designed to promote Black-owned restaurants, chefs, and culinary creativity — by feeding 150 single Black mothers for free was an intentional act of community care, said Joshua “JT” Taylor.
“We’ve always tried to prioritize helping people who are most marginalized,” said Taylor, senior content producer and chief administrative officer at The Kansas City Defender, which organizes Black Feast Week Oct. 6–12. “And the Black woman is probably the most marginalized among us. We try to look out for our people.”
Mili Mansaray and Joshua “JT” Taylor, The Kansas City Defender, inside District Fish & Pasta for Black Feast Week’s second “People’s Buyout” event; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Black Feast Week’s second “People’s Buyout” — hosted Monday night at District Fish & Pasta — continues a growing Kansas City tradition that blends mutual aid, food celebration, and economic empowerment, he said, noting it’s a combination at the heart of the advocacy-focused Black newsroom’s mission.
Click here to learn more about the Kansas City Defender.
The event has grown significantly in just one year, Taylor said, noting both a doubling of participating restaurants and increased interest from local creators — many of whom are eager to expand their audience alongside Black Feast Week.
“A lot of popular influencers in Kansas City actually got their start during Black Feast Week last year, and it helped in building their platforms too,” he said, describing an atmosphere of collaboration that organizers are excited to encourage.
Diners stand in a line that extends outside the front door of District Fish & Pasta for Black Feast Week’s second “People’s Buyout” event; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Black Feast Week 2025 features more than a dozen participating locations, including Orange by Devoured, Vine Street Brewing, and District Biskuits, along with pop-ups, giveaways, and influencer-led restaurant spotlights across social media.
Kiraameen Khalifah, owner of District Fish & Pasta; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News RELATED: Father of Tech N9ne, two of KC’s favorite chefs inspired their drive from his Kansas City hair salon
Among the deals offered as part of the celebration this week:
- District Fish & Pasta — 1 pound of Basa Fish ($10)
- Good Karma Coffee Shop — “Candied Yam Latte” with brown sugar, yam, spices, vanilla, and toasted marshmallow ($8)
- Niece’s — Country fried steak or chicken with two sides plus roll or cornbread ($10.99)
- Brother’s Grill — Six-piece wings ($10)
- Patio Restaurant & Lounge — Patio Pasta: Cajun alfredo with chicken, shrimp and peppers ($12)
- Wah Gwan – Brown stew chicken meal ($12.95) and jerk chicken ($14.95)
- Swifts Cajun Cuisine — Two-piece wings, two-piece Basa Fish, and one side ($15)
- Vine Street Brewing — $10 flights
Click here for more information on Black Feast Week.
View this post on Instagram
The event’s debut in 2024 made an impact, amassing more than one million social media impressions and coverage from outlets like BET and Black Enterprise, Taylor said. This year, organizers hope to top that through authentic community connection.
“This is all part of our version of giving back,” Taylor continued. “The Defender has community programs. We teach arts and culture; we also have mutual aid; we offer community advocacy, clothing drives, free food programs.”
Black Feast Week’s origins are rooted in both pride and urgency that stem from its broader mission.
A poster advertising the first Black Feast Week in 2024 at District Fish & Pasta; photo courtesy of The Kansas City Defender
After a string of closures in 2024 among Black-owned Kansas City restaurants — including Soirée in 18th and Vine and Privé in the Crossroads — the Defender recognized a moment that required action, Taylor said.
“We definitely saw a need to bring more marketing to Black entrepreneurs and restaurant owners specifically,” he said. “A lot of Black entrepreneurs and business owners are limited in where they can open, and some of those areas don’t offer the same type of revenue flow as some of the more affluent areas of Kansas City. Starting Black Feast Week meant working to combat that with a marketing week dedicated toward Black restaurants.”
That grassroots urgency has since evolved into a cultural movement, he said, adding that it plays into The Defender’s key indicator of success: economic empowerment through awareness.
“The point is getting people to actually spend money with Black-owned businesses and encourage Black economic growth as a whole,” Taylor said.
To keep that momentum going, The Defender is focused on expanding its volunteer base to help sustain initiatives like Black Feast Week year after year.
“We’re always open to new members,” said Mili Mansaray, a writer at The Defender. “We have arts and culture events, movie nights, community events too, monthly. Once you’re in the group, you can choose whatever committee you really feel like you want to join.”
Featured Business
Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Combating fight or flight: KC nonprofit deploys horses for veterans struggling to get back in the civilian saddle
Horses taught Patrick Benson to feel again after serving in the military, he shared. Now he extends that experience to his fellow combat veterans through a nonprofit based on a rural Johnson County farm. “Working with challenging horses that are struggling with their purpose, too; to find direction; we needed the same thing,” Benson explained…
PBS docuseries puts KC creator at the intersection food and ‘transformational travel’
Food travel is about more than getting the most exotic or expensive social media-worthy photo of a meal to share for superficial clout, said Jim Kane, emphasizing the transformation power of connection when someone truly allows themselves to use food as a lens for understanding culture. “Before the pandemic, there were a lot of checklists…
A misstep ended their ‘Squid Game’ run together; the business of their friendship keeps moving
While not everything on reality TV is 100 percent … well, real, the bond between “Squid Game: The Challenge” competitors Stephen Lomas and Chase Higgins is anything but scripted, the Kansas City duo said. Longtime friends and business partners — the two previously co-founded Let’s Get Moving, a social media savvy moving company that gained…
How Kauffman Scholars’ 20-year run reflected the value of representation for Black, Brown students
Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News. The legacy of Kauffman Scholars — an initiative of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that sunset earlier in 2023 after 20 years — can be seen in the decades of students impacted and the passion fueling the effort from within, according to a…