Soul Kitchen Provides for Sandy Victims

In an interview with Katie Couric on her talk show Katie, New Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi said Soul Kitchen, the Red Bank-based pay-what-you-can eatery, has been providing hundreds of meals each day to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Bon Jovi said he, like many people, didn't heed the warnings that came along with Sandy, which decimated the shore and left approximately 92 percent of Monmouth County residents without power immediately following the storm. Thinking the result would be like Hurricane Irene, which fizzled out before causing a few outages and some minor flooding damage in most places, Bon Jovi arrived back home in New Jersey from London shocked at what he found.

"When I got home, and until you're home, you don't realize the enormity of the disaster," he told Couric.

To help aid those in need, Bon Jovi said Soul Kitchen, the Monmouth Street restaurant he opened last year with his wife, has been cranking out hundreds of meals each day, not only feeding those who come into the restaurant but also sending meals to affected coastal towns and nearby shelters.

Bon Jovi appeared with Bruce Springsteen and other celebrities in a recent telethon aimed at raising money for disaster reliefe. While his wife minds Soul Kitchen, Bon Jovi said he's hoping to spread the word.

"Every one of those meals was needed and gone. My wife's down there today, and the only reason I'm here is to get this word out, but I'm heading down there now," he said.