What to Know
- Jon Bon Jovi's "community restaurant" in New Jersey will serve a free meal to furloughed workers on Monday
- Red Bank-based JBJ Soul Kitchen will offer the free meal from noon until 2 p.m. on Monday
- The meal is meant to "create a place of support and resources for furloughed federal workers," Bon Jovi and his wife said in a statement
A New Jersey-based “community restaurant” owned by Jon Bon Jovi and his wife will serve a free meal to furloughed federal workers on Monday.
JBJ Soul Kitchen, which is owned by Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi, is teaming up with the Murphy Family Foundation — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife’s philanthropic organization — to offer the meal, according to a release.
“Since founding the Soul Kitchen, we wanted to ensure that anyone struggling with food insecurity had a place to go,” Bon Jovi and his wife said in a statement. “This Monday, we will be open for lunch as a way to create a place of support and resources for furloughed federal workers, many of whom are our friends and neighbors.”
“We are thrilled to work together with Phil and Tammy Murphy on this endeavor, and this Monday we look forward to giving back in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” they added.
The Red Bank-based restaurant, which Bon Jovi and his wife opened in 2011, normally lets patrons pay a suggested donation or volunteer at the restaurant to pay for meals, according to its website.
Monday’s free meal will take place from noon until 2 p.m., the release said.
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“The schedule of additional meals will be determined by turnout, feedback and demand, and will be announced at a later date,” the release noted. “Those wishing to participate should bring proof of federal employment.”
About 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed or working without pay since the shutdown began on Dec. 22. It is the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
