Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen community restaurant to open at Rutgers Newark

Chris Jordan | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen meals for federal workers The Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen in Red Bank served free lunches to 71 furloughed federal workers on Monday, Jan. 21.

They’re giving hunger a bad name — times three.

A third Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen community restaurant will open Jan. 23 on the campus of Rutgers-Newark at the university’s Paul Robeson Campus Center on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Newark.

Diners can either pay for their meals or volunteer in some capacity at the Soul Kitchen. The Rutgers-Newark Soul Kitchen will join similar Soul Kitchens in Red Bank and Toms River.

“We all think it’s a rite of passage to study hard and eat Ramen noodles. How about if it’s the only thing you can afford?” says Jon Bon Jovi on an upcoming “CBS Sunday Morning” broadcast, which will air 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 24.

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Bon Jovi and wife Dorothea Bongiovi said they’ll open more Soul Kitchens in the future. Spoon Full of Hope, a partnership between the Gateway Church of Christ of Morganville, the Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen and JBJ Soul Foundation, operated in Union Beach in 2015 and ‘16 during the aftermath of superstorm Sandy.

“Hunger doesn’t look like what your mind’s eye might imagine,” said Bongiovi to CBS at the Red Bank Soul Kitchen. “It’s the people at your church. It’s the kids that go to school with your kids. And I think that was eye-opening for a lot of the community here that said, ‘Oh, there’s no homeless people here.’”

In Newark, paying guests will be asked to make a minimum donation of $12 for three-course meal. Guests can pay with cash, credit card, raider or dining dollars and are encouraged to pay-it-forward by donating to cover the cost of a guest in-need. If you’re unable to pay, you’ll be invited to be a part of the JBJ Soul Kitchen Rutgers-Newark community by volunteering at the restaurant or elsewhere on campus, according to the Soul Kitchen.

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Contact Michael Di Girolomo at mdigirolomo@gourmetdiningllc.com or 973-353-1601 if you’re interested in volunteering or donating to the Rutgers-Newark Soul Kitchen.

The original JBJ Soul Kitchen opened in 2011 in Red Bank. About 47 percent of the customers volunteer hours. A second Soul Kitchen is located inside the B.E.A.T. Center on Hooper Avenue in Toms River. Fulfill, formerly the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and the People’s Pantry offer services there, including information on obtaining food stamps, affordable healthcare, tax preparation and participation in culinary training classes.

Jon Bon Jovi created the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation in Philadelphia in 2006 to “combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair,” according to its mission statement. He did so after witnessing a homeless man sleeping on a gutter outside his hotel room there.

It’s been an active time for the Soul Foundation, whose recent projects include donating $500,000 to help build a new apartment facility in Washington. D.C. for homeless veterans and $100,000 to HABcore to help with the expansion of its property on River Street in Red Bank. HABcore is a Red Bank nonprofit that provides permanent housing and services to homeless veterans, families and individuals with special needs in Monmouth and Ocean counties, according to the group.

Jon Bon Jovi attended a groundbreaking for the Rutgers-Newark Soul Kitchen on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“It can obviously never compare to performing or writing songs,” says Bon Jovi on “CBS Sunday Morning.” “But what it does do is give you the same sense of fulfillment, I think, when I leave here at night and you see the lives you touch. I have left here, you know, after a long night of volunteering and said, ‘That makes you feel the same kind of good.’ You know? And that’s what I say, the way to feel good is to do good. You know? Find your good – and do it.”

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. His multiple awards include recognition for stories on Bruce Springsteen and Snooki. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com. Stay with app.com or consider a subscription today.