Members of the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Cooking Club volunteered at the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation’s Soul Kitchen Community Restaurant in Red Bank recently.

Working with Soul Kitchen’s Front-of-House Manager Dolly Bonilla, the RFH students on April 16 cleaned off and set tables as well as organized menus for that evening’s crowd.

They were also given a tour of the facility’s garden, which provides fresh organic ingredients for meals, by gardener Robin Grossman. The students learned more about what the Soul Kitchen means to the local community.

“Hope is Delicious” is the motto of the Soul Kitchen, which provides healthy, organic, and locally grown food in a restaurant setting. For paying customers, there are no prices on the menu. Instead, they are invited to “pay it forward.”

A donation of $10 covers the cost of one meal, and anything extra helps defray the cost of someone else’s meal. Nonpaying patrons of the Soul Kitchen can perform volunteer work in exchange for family meals. Those who volunteer in exchange for meals are guided through their tasks by Soul Kitchen staff members, giving them a step up in qualifying for jobs in the restaurant industry.

The Soul Kitchen treats all customers with dignity and respect, while uniting communities and forming healthy and lasting relationships through food.

Volunteerism is very important to the success of Soul Kitchen, and there are opportunities available for those who would like to help out by busing tables, cleaning, stocking items, or serving. More information can be found at jbjsoulkitchen.org.

RFH students who volunteered their time were: Tori Hyduke, Christy Jadevaia, Katie Kane, Michaela Lake, Julia Marascio, Jenna Sandoli, and Becky Unsinn. They were accompanied by RFH Library media specialist Linda Wien Murray and English teachers Cassie Fallon and Lauren Grumbach, who are the club’s co-advisors.

— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH)