Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation Receives 2026 James Beard Impact Award

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation earned honors as a 2026 James Beard Impact Awards recipient. Tuesday brought the announcement.

"Inaugurated in 2025, the Impact Awards is our newest Awards program, born out of the Foundation's impact work and advocacy policy priorities," the James Beard Foundation said in a news release, per app.com. 

Rock musician Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Bongiovi established the group in 2006. Five years later, they launched JBJ Soul Kitchen in 2011.

This nonprofit operates on a pay-it-forward model through restaurants and popup sites. The James Beard Foundation reports the program has "served over 234,000 healthy, three-course meals across its four New Jersey locations."

Food service represents just one part of what they do. JBJ Soul Kitchen offers job training, resume help, and work placement for guests. Mental health providers partner with the program, which also connects people to housing resources.

Red Bank and Toms River each host a location. Two more are planned — one at the Mercy Center's new building in Asbury Park and another at Rutgers-Newark. A temporary site at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Public Library runs until April 30.

The James Beard Awards "have served as the pinnacle of culinary recognition in the U.S.," the organization states. These awards honor "exceptional talent and leadership" within the food world.

In January, two New Jersey chefs made the semifinalist list for the 2026 James Beard Foundation Awards. David Viana from Judy & Harry's in Asbury Park and Russ Cowan from Radin's Delicatessen in Cherry Hill didn't reach the finals.

The annual awards ceremony happens Monday, June 15, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Impact Award recipients will receive recognition then, alongside Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Award recipients.