Social Enterprise: Jon Bon Jovi's Soul Kitchen

Jon Bon Jovi is helping those "living on a prayer" as he opened his latest social enterprise venture this October: a restaurant to give low-income families an alternative to fast food. It's called the Soul Kitchen in New Jersey, near the singer's hometown of Sayreville. Jon Bon Jovi says, "At a time when one in five households are living at or below the poverty level, and at a time when one out of six Americans is 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."

This is more than a soup kitchen. After two years of serving meals in various locations, the Soul Kitchen set up a permanent base in a 1,100 sq. ft. former auto body. Customers are welcome to pay for their meals, while those who are not working can volunteer in this social enterprise bistro. And 'bistro' is the right word to describe this place. The menu includes rainbow beet salad, pork chops with fig and apple chutney, and homemade carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. Everything is healthy, organic, good-for-you food and includes vegetarian options.

Jon Bon Jovi heads up the JBJ Soul Foundation, which has expanded its efforts from affordable housing to hunger. It has built 260 homes for low-income residents in recent years and celebrates its fifth anniversary as a not-for-profit organisation. The Soul Kitchen is its pay-what-you-can eatery with a mission to provide a healthy alternative to fast food. This social enterprise community kitchen wants to redefine how the issue of hunger can be addressed: with no prices on the menu. The Soul Kitchen serves meals to customers who have earned them through volunteering.

This social enterprise business is sustained by cash payment from customers who are able to pay the suggested donation. The Soul Kitchen has its own organic gardens, while additional natural food is provided by Whole Foods Market Middletown in partnership with their vendors, many of whom are from New Jersey and the surrounding areas.

Diners in need at the Soul Kitchen are empowered and are served nutritious culinary dishes by the wait-staff in what Jon Bon Jovi describes as "the coolest brasserie in your hometown...it is the hottest-looking restaurant," a place with the atmosphere of dignity for the guests. The patrons who can afford to dine are rewarded knowing that they've made a difference to their community. This social enterprise restaurant is about making people feel part of a larger community that cares about them, while still expecting them to contribute to society at large: a great model.