JBJ Soul Kitchen, a “community restaurant” owned by rock star Jon Bon Jovi, will offer free meals to furloughed government workers and their families on Monday afternoon.
“In line with our mission, Federal workers are encouraged to join us for a delicious meal and to learn about additional support and resources available in our community,” the restaurant announced on its Facebook page Saturday.
The restaurant will partner with Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) and his wife’s charity — the Murphy Foundation — to give out free food at its Red Bank, New Jersey location.
In a statement to NBC New York, the Bon Jovi family said that serving free meals to the workers is in line with their restaurant’s founding mission. “Since founding the Soul Kitchen, we wanted to ensure that anyone struggling with food insecurity had a place to go,” the statement reads. “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 JBJ Soul Kitchen allows patrons to pay a minimum donation or volunteer at the restaurant to cover meal costs.
Nearly 800,000 government workers have been impacted by the shutdown, going without pay since the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, began December 22.