Bon Jovi Opens NJ Soul Kitchen [VIDEO]

“At a time when 1 in 5 households are living at or below the poverty level, and at a time when 1 out of 6 Americans are food insecure, this is a restaurant whose time has come. This is a place based on and built on community – by and for the community,” said rock-n-roll icon Jon Bon Jovi at the Ocotober 19 opening of the Soul Kitchen in Red Bank New Jersey.  

His words, reprinted on the Soul Kitchen website, expressed the idea behind the restaurant: pay what you can. If you don't have the money, pay it forward.

Those who attended the JBJ Soul Kitchen opening, built in a converted Red Bank garage, were invited to enjoy a great meal prepared by local chefs.  If unable to pay, the restaurant asked only that diners repaid the price of the meal by volunteering at the restaurant or other local charitable organizations, such as .

Along with Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, the JBJ Soul Foundation attended the restaurant's opening celebration.  The five-year old non-profit organization, JBJ Soul Foundation has spent the past two years developing the pilot program, touted as the first of it's kind anywhere.  If successful, the model could be expanded or duplicated elsewhere.

As the Soul Kitchen website states: Inspired by the old adage, “teach a man to fish,” diners in need who come to the Soul Kitchen are empowered – they have earned a seat at the table for themselves and their families through volunteer hours at the Kitchen or other local organizations. They are served nutritious culinary dishes by the wait-staff in a lovely restaurant atmosphere with the dignity of having earned their meal. On the other hand, 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 the suggested donation, they’ve contributed to their community.

Check out the video to see Soul Kitchen and the Jov in action.

--Linda Federico-O'Murchu contributed to this article.