Feed Your “Soul” and Serve Your Community This Holiday Season: ShoreTV New Jersey Visits JBJ Soul Kitchen

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December 20, 2017 - comments

The holiday season in and around the Jersey Shore is in full swing!  It’s a time to enjoy family and friends and give back to our communities—communities that make the shore area a special place to live and visit.

ShoreTV New Jersey decided to visit JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, a restaurant program founded by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. Soul Kitchen is a 3 course American Regional Cuisine.  Much of the fare consists of organic ingredients taken from the Soul Kitchen garden or kitchen farm.

Unlike a traditional restaurant, JBJ Soul Kitchen does things a little differently. Instead of paying for your food, patrons can either donate the cost of their meal or work in the kitchen as a volunteer and earn their meal! In fact, one hour of volunteer time in the kitchen earns a meal certificate that feeds the volunteer and up to 4 family members. The menu has no prices, as long as you can donate the minimum amount of $20 per meal. Any extra dollar amount will go toward helping feed your neighbor in need.

The restaurant itself is a quaint little building tucked away behind its organic garden on Monmouth Street in Red Bank. Entering the walkway, the first thing you see is a large outline of a heart lit up across the front window of the restaurant. Upon walking In, I was immediately met by the welcoming hostess who eagerly sat me next to a wonderful woman whom I have never met before named Karen. The idea of community seating was new to me, and I will admit I was a little hesitant to go out of my comfort zone and share a dinner with a complete stranger.  But as soon as I sat down I was immediately met with a warm welcome and uplifting conversation from my new friend and dinner companion and that initial anxiety disappeared.

Soon after, a volunteer named Jean and her daughter Emily joined us. They were also extremely friendly and welcoming, as that was seemingly the case for everybody that was in the restaurant regardless if they were an employee or a patron. There was an unmatched sense of inclusion and community that accompanied the Soul Kitchen Foundation.  It was refreshing to see not one person in the whole building eating alone.

For my meal, I had a choice of salad, soup, or the special of the night which was their homemade chili.  Since it was quite cold the day of my visit, I chose the latter. Following the appetizer, I was given the choice of 5 different entrées, including meat and fish options as well as vegetable based dishes offered to those following a vegetarian lifestyle. I went with the orange maple salmon dish, served with a pecan and herb mushroom medley and rice.  It was both delicious and filling.  I wish I could have tried more entrees during my visit! Last but not least, we capped off our meal by sharing their desserts of the night.  They included fresh fruit and pumpkin crème brûlée.  It was a delicious three course meal that would leave anybody satisfied and coming back for more.

I left that night with a full stomach, a renewed spirit from the “soul” of the community, and three new friends whom I would have never gotten to know if not for the community aspect of the Soul Kitchen Restaurant. Too often, I simply will get a meal on the go and eat by myself, burying my face in my phone as to avoid human contact.  It was nice to finally experience something different, and the employees and patrons at the Soul Kitchen made that process both easy and enjoyable for me. I highly recommend anybody to take a trip to one of the Soul Kitchen locations and partake in this experience first hand. Whether it is volunteering or simply enjoying a meal, you will leave with a fulfilled and refreshing sense of community as you spend your time with wonderful people such as Karen, Jean, and Emily who truly make the Jersey Shore area feel like home.

This holiday season, if our ShoreTV New Jersey community would like to donate to or visit the JBJ Soul Kitchen, you can go to one of their two locations listed below or donate online at https://www.jbjsoulkitchen.org/donate. For more information on volunteering, feel free to reach out to Soul Kitchen’s Community Coordinator Maylou Caputo by email at mmcaputo@aol.com or phone at 732-513-9253.  All proceeds go straight to the JBJ Soul Foundation and will help to feed those in need all year round in and around the Jersey Shore.  

Red Bank Location:  207 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701

Hours:   Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: Dinner 5– 7pm

Sunday Brunch 11:30am – 2pm

*Closed Monday and Tuesday

Toms River Location, 1769 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08753

Hours:  Thursday and Friday: Lunch 11:30am – 1:30pm

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: Dinner 5 – 7pm

Sunday Brunch 11:30am – 2pm

*Closed Monday and Tuesday

Happy Holidays to our ShoreTV New Jersey Family!

**ShoreTV New Jersey Guest Blogger: Sean Tornetta**

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