TOMS RIVER – The JBJ Soul Kitchen Pop-Up in the former church attached to the library downtown will remain open until January 30. Supporters are hoping for another extension but the mayor wants it shut down.
The kitchen opened in February, offering healthy, chef-prepared meals for a suggested donation or by volunteering. Paying customers can cover meals for those who can’t afford it. The timeline was always nebulous, as there was no set end for when it was going to close. There were just extensions.
“We are hoping for another extension, but with limited institutional support, it doesn’t look promising. This might be the final extension,” said a press release from the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. If it ends in January it will be at the height of the cold winter months, when the need is greater than ever. This is the time that Code Blue shelters open to give people a night’s sleep someplace warm.
“To date, 69% of meals served at the Pop-Up have gone to guests experiencing food insecurity. With Code Blue alerts expected to rise this winter, we anticipate even greater demand,” the foundation said. “At JBJ Soul Kitchen, the mission doesn’t end when a guest leaves the table. Dining with us also connects individuals to vital community resources that help them build stability beyond a single meal. Because of this, the Pop-Up has been able to provide far more than food, making more than 60 housing referrals with several individuals placed in permanent housing. We are also linking guests to workforce development, sober living programs, and job placements. We have also distributed over 700 hygiene kits (including 50 female kits) and 80 Narcan kits to prevent overdoses.”
The mayor has spoken out against the kitchen in the past and continues to advocate against it.
“All this time, these folks have said that this is a restaurant and not a soup kitchen, but their press release contradicts that narrative and states that 70% of their meals are free,” Mayor Daniel Rodrick said. “I want to be clear, feeding those in need is the right thing to do, but not in a public library.
“According to the release, they are also giving out Narcan to drug addicts. Libraries are supposed to be safe places for children to read books. This is not safe. To date, Toms River has been involved in placing over 70 homeless individuals between the camp that my administration inherited from the Mo Hill Administration and the homeless who have been dropped off to take advantage of free food at the library. None of these individuals were from Toms River. They were all brought here by so-called non-profits. Although we continue to work on getting placement for those dropped off in our community, it is not fair for Toms River to bear the burden of the county’s homeless problem,” he said.
“And I also want to stress that the vast majority of these individuals are drug addicted and/or mentally ill. It’s not safe. These folks belong in detox and/or mental health clinics, not eating in the county library,” he continued.
“We just passed an ordinance to help us regulate the parking garage by limiting access to only those whose cars are parked there. We’ve had numerous drug overdoses there and in the library,” Rodrick said. “We’ve had car thefts, and we arrested individuals selling narcotics. Again, these folks belong in a treatment facility, not in a library down the block from our schools. The federal government, the state legislature, and the courts need to come together to make it easier to get these folks off the street and into treatment. We’ve cleaned up downtown, but as long as the Soul Kitchen operates, it will be a continual struggle as these so-called non-profits drop people off in our community. We are exploring legal action against these entities, but we would prefer it if the county took care of its own problems.”
Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation representatives urged support and compassion.
Dorothea Bongiovi stated, “Too often, our guests – our neighbors – are reduced to labels. They get treated like statistics, like problems to be solved, rather than human beings with dignity and stories and dreams, we are here to help.”
“This is our last chance to show the community what is possible when people come together,” said Rob Wood, Assistant General Manager. “Every meal purchased and every Pay It Forward contribution helps us continue to serve during the coldest, most difficult months of the year.”
