With the cold weather upon us, overnight guests at the JBJ & PBC Hope and Comfort Warming Center in Red Bank, NJ need supplies to help make their stay comfortable during Code Blue Nights. The Warming Center provides the local homeless community a safe and secure location during below-freezing temperatures.
This Giving Tuesday, our Amazon Wish List will further our mission of providing men in-need with temporary shelter, safety, food and community-based resources in a safe environment, on the coldest winter days. Last winter, the JBJ & PBC Hope and Comfort Warming Center helped over 875 men and this winter we are preparing for even more due to the already cold temperatures.
Please considering joining us in this global generosity movement. Wish List items range from shirts, pants, socks, and hats to coffee, snacks, backpacks, and personal hygiene items.
The 10th Annual Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy took place in New York City on September 23, 2022. This annual event brought together over 100 of the world’s leading philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and business leaders for critical discussions on how to apply wealth and resources to solve today’s most intractable problems.
Forbes invited Jon Bon Jovi, Board Chairman of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (JBJSF) and Dorothea Bongiovi, Founder & Program Director of JBJ Soul Kitchen, to speak in a fireside chat discussion. At the 10th Annual Event, Jon and Dorothea were the closing speakers, where in the first annual event, they opened this discussion that brings people together to strengthen society. This year’s summit focused on one particular challenge – global food insecurity – which demands the innovative, solutions-oriented attention of the world’s most successful people. This is an issue that both the JBJSF and JBJ Soul Kitchen’s mission are built upon, as they continue to break the cycle of poverty, hunger and homelessness.
“Paying it forward is effecting change directly,” said Jon Bon Jovi as he discussed the goals of JBJSF in conversation with Randall Lane. He continued, “We’re effecting change one person at a time,” a foundation which JBJ Soul Kitchen is so proud to be built upon. By understanding the needs of the individuals, the team at JBJ Soul Kitchen is able to find the appropriate resources to help their patrons.
In order to stay focused on the work at hand, Dorothea Bongiovi stated, “You just have to put your head down and continue to put one step in front of the other. Do what you can do. If everyone did that, things would get a little bit better.” As both JBJSF and JBJ Soul Kitchen navigate the challenges of food insecurity and homelessness, the organizations rely on the generous donations of their supporters. Without the teamwork of the staff and volunteers, and the support of our very generous donors, this mission would not be possible. Please join us in helping to end this fight. Donate today.
JBJ Soul Kitchen provides over 6,000 meals to the FeedNJ Program.
NEW JERSEY—Many more New Jerseysans are experiencing food insecurity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but receiving free food from soup kitchens and community giveaways feels different when that food comes from a beloved community restaurant. FeedNJ, the flagship program operated by nonprofit Soup Kitchen 411, has brought smiles to people experiencing food insecurity, relief for overworked soup kitchen crews, and critical business to beloved local restaurants. To date, the program has bought and served nearly 20,000 meals in and from Monmouth County, with a mandate to exceed 30,000 by Thanksgiving.
“I first became involved with Soup Kitchen 411’s FeedNJ program last Spring to make sure local restaurants got much-needed business, and I could not be more thrilled with the economic impact it has had in Monmouth County,” said Senator Vin Gopal. “In particular, the program has purchased over 10,000 meals combined from JBJ Soul Kitchen and No Limits Cafe, which have a ‘Pay it Forward’ model and employ people with intellectual disabilities, respectively. These are not just beloved restaurants with great food, but with socially-conscious missions.”
As New Jersey prepares for vaccine passports to roll out, restaurant owners express their relief at the regularity of large quantities of meals purchased from Soup Kitchen 411.
“JBJ Soul Kitchen is a community restaurant that serves an in-need and paying customer. Our unique “Pay it Forward” model allows diners, who are able to donate, to cover the cost of those in need who have volunteered for their meals. Meals purchased by Soup Kitchen’s FeedNJ program at retail price enable us to continue to generate revenue while donating more meals to those in need,” said Dorothea Bongiovi, founder of JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank and Toms River.
Of the meals served in Monmouth County, over 6,000 have come from JBJ Soul Kitchen, including 5,600 purchased in the past six months through the state EDA’s Sustain and Serve NJ grant. During this grant period, 3,525 meals have come from No Limits Cafe, a lunch cafe employing people with intellectual disabilities.
Over 50 soup kitchens, food pantries, houses of worship, local nonprofits, community outreach groups and municipal health departments have worked with Soup Kitchen 411 to distribute meals to the community. Almost a dozen local PBAs and Police Departments joined in the fight in July.
If you’d like to learn more about the FeedNJ initiative and volunteer in the fight against hunger, please visit https://Soup Kitchen 411.com/feednj.
Campus Foodservice
Provider, Gourmet Dining, Introduces “Pay It Forward” Community Restaurant as
Innovative Approach to Addressing Student Food Insecurity
Pictured (L-R): Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Rutgers University-Newark; Phil Murphy, Governor, New Jersey; Tammy Murphy; First Lady of New Jersey; Dorothea Bongiovi, Jon Bon Jovi; Michael Frungillo, President, Gourmet Dining
Newark, N.J. – January 22, 2020 – It’s hard to believe, but one in three students attending a four-year college struggle with the issue of food insecurity. At Rutgers University – Newark (RU-N), where more than 50 percent of students have exceptional financial need, the campus community is taking an innovative approach to address the issue by opening the first JBJ Soul Kitchen on a college campus in partnership with the school’s food service provider, Gourmet Dining. The JBJ Soul Kitchen serves healthy, delicious meals to students, faculty and community members who have the ability to pay, in addition to students who are in need.
“Food insecurity is one of the most critical issues college students face today,” said Jon Bon Jovi, Board Chairman, JBJ Soul Foundation. “We applaud Gourmet Dining and Rutgers University-Newark who have made tackling this issue a priority so that students always have a place to go for a great-tasting, healthy meal. We couldn’t have found a better place to open our third JBJ Soul Kitchen location and truly believe that when students are supported with basic needs and backed by their community, they can and will go on to do amazing things.”
Rutgers
University – Newark has long been at the forefront of addressing the issue of
student food insecurity and has taken a comprehensive approach to open a food
pantry, organize a care team and work with student organizations dedicated to
fighting hunger on campus. Introducing the JBJ Soul Kitchen at RU-N provides
even greater opportunities for the entire campus community to come together and
educate and assist one another to solve this problem.
“Our
new partnership with the JBJ Soul Foundation and Gourmet Dining to open JBJ
Soul Kitchen—the first on a college campus—takes our collective action on food
insecurity to a whole new level,” said Rutgers University – Newark Chancellor
Nancy Cantor. “This is the kind of action that I think the late great
Newark Rabbi Joachim Prinz had in mind when he spoke at the March on Washington
just before Dr. King in 1963 and said: ‘Neighbor is not a geographic term. It
is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation
of human dignity and integrity.’ For us at Rutgers-Newark, that is what it
means to be an anchor institution.”
At
JBJ Soul Kitchen RU-N, students, faculty and community members are invited to
dine and pay-it-forward by making a minimum donation of $12 or using a donated meal
plan “swipe”. Students may also volunteer their time by participating in
various activities around the restaurant or in other campus dining locations to
cover the cost of their meal.
“What makes the JBJ Soul Kitchen model special is that it’s designed so that everyone can enjoy a healthy, delicious meal and dine with dignity – whether you’re hungry or hungry to make a difference,” added Dorothea Bongiovi, Founder, JBJ Soul Kitchen.
No
matter the individual’s socioeconomic situation, everyone who dines at the JBJ
Soul Kitchen will enjoy the same chef-created, three-course meal. Every week
the menu changes with a variety of options for appetizers, main courses and
desserts. Some of the menus will feature a Soul Spiced BBQ Pulled Beef, a Coffee
and Soul Spiced Short Rib, and Maple Roasted Chicken. All meat served is
certified Halal, Kosher is available upon request, and there are always vegan
and gluten-free options, along with delicious desserts.
“As a campus dining service, everything we do is focused
on meeting the ever-changing dining needs of our students and know that great
meals are a part of their success. One day, after seeing a long line of
students waiting to visit the food pantry, I knew we needed to do something
more to help them focus on being students – and not worry about where their
next meal is coming from,” said Michael Frungillo, President, Gourmet Dining.
“Understanding there was a successful model and a great champion essentially in
our own backyard in New Jersey, we soon approached Jon and Dorothea and the JBJ
Soul Kitchen. We’re honored to carry their mission forward and know we have all
the right ingredients to make a difference.”
Beginning on Thursday January 23, the JBJ Soul Kitchen
RU-N will be open for lunch from 11:30am-1:30pm ET Monday-Friday. It is located
on the second floor of the Paul Robeson Campus Center at 350 Dr. M.L.K. Jr.
Blvd. in Newark, N.J.
Red Bank, N.J., (November 15, 2019) – Today HABCORE broke ground on a 4-unit expansion project on River Street in Red Bank. Funds have been donated by generous community individuals as well as New Jersey Natural Gas, the Lydia Collins deForest Charitable Trust, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ National Housing Trust Fund, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.
Groundbreaking Ceremony for HABCORE’s River Street Project held November 15, 2019
HABCORE is a nonprofit organization in Red Bank, NJ that provides
permanent housing and supportive services to homeless veterans, families and
individuals with special needs in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Its mission is
to provide permanent housing and individualized support, helping homeless
families, veterans, and individuals with special needs move through crisis to
stability, giving them the opportunity to improve their lives.
This is the first time the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has donated to permanent housing for the formerly homeless in Monmouth County. “The River Street project presented a unique opportunity for the Foundation to help realize our two-fold mission of ending the cycle of homelessness and hunger in the Red Bank community,” said Heather Goldfarb, Executive Director of JBJ Soul Foundation. “We are pleased to partner with HABCORE to provide affordable housing to those in need, while continuing our support in the community through JBJ Soul Kitchen and JBJ & PBC Hope & Comfort Warming Center, all within walking distance of one another.”
Housing in Monmouth and
Ocean counties is scarce and unaffordable for many. In 1988 HABCORE was formed to house the homeless when three Red Bank men froze to
death on the streets of Red Bank during a harsh winter. The agency was named
HABCORE in the memory of those men whose initials began
with H, A, and B. Over the past 31 years HABCORE has continued to meet
the needs of the previously homeless in both congregate and independent living settings.
HABCORE now has 300 residents living across Monmouth and Ocean counties
including 60 families with 100 children. Residents represent a formerly
homeless population of very-low-income families, veterans, and individuals with
special needs.
HABCORE’s goal is to grow continuously to meet the needs of the 665
estimated homeless in the Monmouth-Ocean region. “This generosity enables
HABCORE to increase the number of affordable,
supportive units in Red Bank by building onto the existing 100-year-old duplex
which we’ve owned since 1992,” said Steve Heisman, Executive Director. “We
have a distinguished track record for expanding services to meet the rising
need for housing while continuously improving support to residents.”
As part of HABCORE’s Independent Living Program, the residents will receive
supportive services, such as training in job acquisition skills and financial
literacy.
Approved unanimously by
the Red Bank Zoning Board of Adjustment, the project will make the first floor
units wheel chair accessible with a motorized lift on the front of the
property. A laundry room will be added in a breezeway connecting the older
structure with the new addition, and a fire suppression system will be
installed to serve both structures. All construction will be energy
efficient.
Rendering of HABCORE’s River Street Project
Elected officials whose districts represent HABCORE’s service area praise its programs and the vital need it addresses:
“HABCORE is a true leader in our Monmouth County community,” said Senator
Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch). “So many New Jersey families have been touched by
their dedicated efforts, and this funding will allow HABCORE ore to continue to aid more households in need. Thank you to all
of the staff, volunteers, and supporters who make HABcore’s mission possible.”
“When addressing homelessness, housing has to be the first part of any solution,” said Assemblywoman Joann Downey (D-Freehold), who chairs the Human Services Committee in the State Assembly. “We’re grateful to HABCORE for all of their efforts to support underserved families, and will continue to do all we can to make sure that they can continue this critical work.”
“Our communities are better off because of HABCORE’s contributions,” said Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling (D-Neptune). “This funding for their efforts in Red Bank is a clear statement that New Jersey will continue to prioritize the needs of our most vulnerable residents, and I look forward to seeing how HABCORE core will use this funding to serve local families.”
