Category Archives: New Jersey

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6th Annual Mulligan for Meals Golf Outing

On June 12, 2023, we hosted our 6th Annual Mulligans For Meals Golf Outing at Hominy Hill Golf Course. This event aims to support the missions of alleviating hunger at JBJ Soul Kitchen and supporting our locations in Red Bank and Toms River, NJ.

Thank you to our presenting sponsors, The Highlawn and Nini & Deluca, as well as all of our other wonderful sponsors and golfers who made this day so special!

JBJ Soul Kitchen strives to provide healthy, locally sourced food in a restaurant setting to both in-need and paying customers, addressing issues of food insecurity. We empower individuals by offering resources and volunteer opportunities, encouraging paying customers to pay it forward and cover the cost for those in need. Our commitment is to treat all our customers with dignity and respect, fostering unity in communities and building healthy, lasting relationships through food.

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JBJ Soul Kitchen Participates in Project Homeless Connect 2013

Beginning at 9am, people who found themselves in need were invited to the Pilgrim Baptist Church to have access to winter clothing (adults & children), employment services, vocational training, veteran’s programs, and legal advice. This year Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was also present to meet with those who had been displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Volunteers from the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Central Jersey were also on hand to check blood pressure, give flu shots and run blood tests, all free of charge, for adults and children who otherwise may not have the care. More than 550 Point in Time surveys were collected including 216 that were collected in Red Bank, which is up from 165 last year.

After visiting the church, those participating were welcomed at JBJ Soul Kitchen which is located just around the corner. Soul Kitchen was open from 10am until 2pm, serving sandwiches, hot bowls of soup, and beverages to those in need as well as the volunteers. Serving over 100 meals to the community was an important role, but more important was the connection that the staff were able to make with those who came inside to share the warmth of good company and learn about Soul Kitchen.

Below is the full story about Project Homeless Connect:

Homeless Connect volunteers reach out
County program identifies more than 500 homeless or struggling in Monmouth
BY KEITH HEUMILLER, Atlanticville

On an uncharacteristically warm day in January, Beatriz Oesterheld got up early and went to the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Red Bank.

Along with some of the dozens of volunteers working alongside her, she helped set up a small tent and information booth on the church’s Shrewsbury Avenue lawn, announcing the start of the seventh annual Project Homeless Connect initiative in Monmouth County.

The program, held this year on Jan. 30, is conducted by the Monmouth County Department of Human Services in conjunction with the annual Point-in-Time Survey, a nationwide event driven by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order to get an accurate count of the homeless in America. In addition to issuing anonymous surveys and encouraging the homeless to provide their demographic information, some basic details of their situation and their current needs, program organizers and volunteers also hand out clothing, supplies, food and information regarding social services and aid programs.

By the time Jan. 30 rolled around, Oesterheld and countless others had already been working for two days to coordinate deliveries of donated supplies from a county warehouse and prepare workers for the five hour event. On the day of the count, she and the rest of her team stationed at Pilgrim Baptist arranged tables, information desks and a working medical center; filled racks with donated winter coats, gloves and hats; and set out a buffet with bagels, pastries and coffee.

At 9 a.m. the doors were opened and the real work began.

“It takes a lot,” said Oesterheld, the designated site manager for the Red Bank location and executive director of the Community Affairs and Resource Center in Asbury Park. “There is so much that goes into it. But I couldn’t say no.”

More than 70 volunteers from various local and state organizations signed on to help at Pilgrim Baptist, with similar numbers manning the county’s other Homeless Connect locations in Freehold and Asbury Park. Jeffrey Schwartz, who manages the countywide effort as Monmouth County Human Services director of planning and contracting, said the goal is not only to get an accurate count of the homeless in the area for government funding purposes, but to provide them with the kind of help that can benefit them for the long-term. “HUD requires us to do a count of the homeless every year or every other year. In New Jersey everybody does it on Jan. 30,” he said. “In Monmouth County and many other counties we also look to attract those that are near homeless, those that are struggling. … We want to see them. We want to try to connect them with other services.”

Schwartz said that while the stopgap services provided at the Connect locations — including winter clothing, blankets, free food, a hot lunch at Soul Kitchen in Red Bank and household products like soap and shampoo — can help someone for a day or a few months, the services they could be directed to can help for a lifetime. “Physical stuff comes and goes, but the guidance can take them a much longer way, and that to me is paramount,” he said. At each Homeless Connect location, volunteer professionals from various industries and agencies offer information on employment services, vocational training, veterans’ programs, legal advice, local, state and federal aid opportunities and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs for those who had been displaced by superstorm Sandy.

“We really want the children to be the beneficiary of the guidance; their futures are what we’re really focusing on. The adults we talk to, but the kids are the ones who get impacted most if they are cold or hungry or sick.” On the opposite side of the building, volunteers from the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Central Jersey checked blood pressures, gave flu shots and ran blood tests, all free of charge, for adults and children who otherwise may not have the care. “For a lot of these families, that’s maybe the only medical person they’ll see all year,” Schwartz said.

Eldra Radzik, a first-time volunteer with Project Homeless Connect, said she was working to help the many Spanish- and English-speaking visitors to find the help they needed, even if they didn’t know where to start. “They are looking for jobs, they are looking for places to stay, they are looking for a hot meal, they are looking for a coat to wear, or blankets for their children,” said Radzik, who works alongside Oesterheld at the Community Affairs and Resource Center.
“I knew from volunteering at other events there was a need for these kinds of services, but I didn’t realize how big it was, especially in Monmouth County where everybody thinks people have money. Which is not the case, obviously.”

According to Laurie Duhovny, Monmouth County Human Services Advisory Council coordinator, more than 550 Point in Time surveys were collected from the three locations. In Red Bank alone, volunteers collected 216, up from 165 last year.

Thirty-three surveys were also collected from the county’s mobile aid units, vans that traveled around the Bayshore and Neptune areas collecting information and handing out blankets and coats.

In addition to the individuals and families counted by the surveys, Schwartz said 425 homeless people are currently living in Monmouth County apartments, group homes and other shelters sponsored by social service programs. Hundreds more are living in motels and other temporary housing after being displaced by Sandy.

Though the surveys are anonymous, Schwartz said many are wary of speaking up or reaching out, which means there are likely even more homeless in the area than the county is aware of. One goal of the Homeless Connect program, he said, is to reach as many as possible. “We want to see them. We want to try to connect them with other services. We want to connect them to social services and other nonprofits in the county, or a case manager or a counselor,” he said. “But government has a stigma to it. Not everybody trusts us, even though we’re the good guys. All we can do is reach out and try to help everyone we can.”

The donated supplies come from individuals, nonprofit groups and more than 50 local commercial sponsors, he said, with some area charitable organizations like Holiday Express serving as longtime partners for the initiative. This year program coordinators also used those supplies to aid another county as well, Schwartz said, by donating hundreds of coats and blankets to the “Tent City” of displaced residents in Lakewood in Ocean County. Oesterheld said this year’s Homeless Connect Program was more poignant than ever, as the Oct. 29 superstorm had not only made thousands more people homeless, but had awakened a spirit of volunteerism and communal support in the residents who made it through unscathed. “Since Sandy, there has been so much more need in the area, 100 percent more,” he said. “I have been very fortunate in my life, I have so much to be grateful for, so it feels good to give back to the community. It’s what we should all be doing.”

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Soul Kitchen Welcomes One World Everybody Eats Summit Attendees

Cafes, like Soul Kitchen, incorporate a strong volunteer component from within the local community, without whom we would not be able to accomplish our mission. Attendees of the Summit did a field visit to Soul Kitchen and heard from management and staff about the model of empowerment, inspiration, and “community” we hold so important.

It was inspiring to us at Soul Kitchen to hear the many stories of why so many others decided to start community kitchens / cafes and how they promote the social goals we all epitomize.

Many shared stories, photos, suggestions and conversations later – we are re-energized to continue to reach out to our community to ensure that those who are experiencing food-insecurity issues know where to turn to experience a sense of community and a healthy meal – – one Soul at a time!!

To view photos from this event please visit our PHOTO GALLERY

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The JBJ Soul Kitchen Celebrates One Year Anniversary

The JBJ Soul Kitchen began as a pilot program serving meals in 2009, assessing the patrons’ needs and response to the model, before renovating an old 1,100 square foot auto-body shop as the Kitchen’s new, permanent location. While under construction volunteers painted, landscaped and helped transform a 3 bay garage into a beautiful oasis. Neighbors offered food, furniture, dishes, their time and expertise; the Red Bank community welcomed and embraced the Soul Kitchen mission leading up to the grand opening last year on October 19, 2011.

“We are so thankful to everyone in the Red Bank community and beyond for all the support during our first official year of service,” stated Mimi Box, Director of the JBJ Soul Foundation. “It tells us that there is a population of supporters and people in need out there who believe that access to fresh, nutritious food & meals should be available to all, regardless of their economic place in our community. As we look towards the future we hope to continue to spread the mission of the JBJ Soul Foundation through programs such as JBJ Soul Kitchen and help those in need one soul at a time”.

Inspired by the old adage, “teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” diners in need who come to the Soul Kitchen are empowered – they have the opportunity to earn a seat at the table for themselves and their families through volunteer hours at the Kitchen or other local organizations. They are served by the wait-staff in a lovely restaurant atmosphere with the dignity of having earned their meal. Those patrons who can afford to dine anywhere are rewarded with not only a delicious meal but with the knowledge that by dining out and leaving more than the suggested donation, they’ve contributed to their community.

In addition, Soul Kitchen has been able to provide more than just meals to those who dine at the restaurant; they have connected members of the community to those who are in need of help, in some cases resulting in job opportunities as it did for one gentleman who lost his job in construction last fall. He came to Soul Kitchen and volunteered to wash dishes, clean windows, and help out in any way he could. One night while eating at a community table he met and was hired by a local landlady who needed a handyman. He has since been hired by a contractor and has been working steadily for the last two months.

This spring, Soul Kitchen began a successful fundraising Guest Chef series, which brought celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali and Tom Collichio to Soul Kitchen; as well as brothers Victor and Bobby Rallo, from the local Basil T’s restaurant.

The Soul Kitchen operates as a program of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation and is sustained by cash payment from customers who are able to pay the suggested donation (or even a little more).

Please visit our Photo Gallery for images of Soul Kitchen throughout its first year!

Donations to Soul Kitchen help offset the cost of providing meals to those in need. If you would like to donate to the JBJ Soul Kitchen and our mission, please click HERE