Supporters Of Red Bank's Lunch Break To Be Honored At Gala

RED BANK, NJ — Lunch Break’s annual Fall Gala has the theme of “Renew the Promise of Hope.”

And it is a theme that is especially meaningful to Executive Director Gwendolyn Love.

“This year’s gala marks a pivotal point in Lunch Break’s history, as we celebrate the success of our Capital Campaign expansion and recent merger of Family Promise of Monmouth County,” said Love.

The gala will take place on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Park Loft, Oceanport, and honors individuals who have contributed time, money and vision to the Lunch Break social services agency.

The host for the evening will be Siobhan Fallon Hogan, film producer, screenwriter and actor of “Seinfeld,” “Forrest Gump” and “Men in Black” fame.

“We are thrilled to have noted film producer and actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan as our host and are excited to be among the first events to premiere at the new Park Loft on the grounds of historic Fort Monmouth. I couldn’t be more proud of our honorees, who exemplify Lunch Break’s mission in their lives and work every day.”

The 2022 honorees include such philanthropic community leaders as Jeremy Grunin, president of the Grunin Foundation and the Grunin Group, who will receive the Norma Todd Service Award; Dr. Thomas and Bonnie Johnson, recipients of the Heart to Hand Award; and Jamie Giovinazzo, founder of Eat Clean Bro, and Paul Sansone Jr., owner of Sansone Jr.’s 66 Automall, recipients of the Corporate Platinum Partner Award.

The evening, which will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., will feature fine cuisine, dancing, entertainment, raffles and an auction of premium items, organizers said in a news release.

Tickets are $400 per person; seating is limited. Sponsorship, ads and underwriting opportunities also are available.

Proceeds will benefit Lunch Break’s mission of providing food security and social services, clothing, fellowship, life skills and housing assistance to those who are food insecure and financially insecure in Monmouth County and beyond.

Tickets and sponsorships information is available online.

Here is more about the contributions of the honorees of the event:

• Jeremy Grunin, president, the Grunin Foundation and the Grunin Group, Norma Todd Service Award. For more than 10 years, Grunin has been actively engaged throughout the community as president of the Grunin Foundation, a proactive grant maker focused on economic growth at the central Jersey Shore. He has served in several volunteer leadership roles with nonprofit and advocacy groups, including Lunch Break. Over the years, the foundation has supported Executive Director Love and the Lunch Break Resource Center through operational and capital assistance, which has benefited individuals, the community and the economy as a whole. He is a partner of Grunin Holdings, LLC., a New Jersey Partnership specializing in investing in third-party commercial ventures. He has served as a volunteer advisor with such nonprofit organizations as the Count Basie Center for the Arts, the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Community Medical Center, and Monmouth University, to name a few.
• Dr. Thomas and Bonnie Johnson, Heart to Hand Award. Volunteers Thomas and Bonnie Johnson began their more than decade-long affiliation with Lunch Break when Bonnie joined the Board of Trustees in 2011. Love soon asked her to chair the first-ever capital fundraising campaign, and Bonnie agreed on condition that Tom become the budgeting and expense monitor. They have since applied their wisdom and experience in the current capital campaign. The longtime Red Bank residents love the challenge of raising funds to continuously improve the services Lunch Break offers to the community, and they delight in working with such talented committee members. Deeply devoted to advancing healthier, stronger households and human dignity, the Johnsons have been tireless volunteers. Bonnie started her social justice journey in the early 1990s, when she served on the Board of 180 Turning Lives Around, and has been a member of the Board of the Community YMCA and The Center in Asbury Park. She is a current member of the Foundation Board for the Visiting Nurse Association and is a weekly volunteer at Interfaith Neighbors in Asbury Park. Bonnie participates on the Lunch Break Advisory Board and volunteers weekly in the donation room. Tom, who has delivered meals to seniors, tutors young students through the Lunch Break Life Skills Program and volunteers weekly at The Center in Asbury Park.
• Jamie Giovinazzo, founder of Eat Clean Bro, Corporate Platinum Partner Award. Giovinazzo's mission has been to help improve people’s health and happiness, and the fast-growing Eat Clean Bro meal-prep delivery company is his brainchild. He set out to change peoples’ lives by giving them nutritious eating options and a chance to improve their health, as well as combat obesity. He kickstarted his company about a decade ago, dropping his last $300 on groceries that he converted into more than 80 customer meals, and since then, the company has delivered fresh (never frozen) meals to customers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and beyond. Each month, Eat Clean Bro donates thousands of meals to local food banks — Lunch Break being among the regular recipients.
• Paul Sansone Jr., owner, Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall, Corporate Platinum Partner Award. Paul Sansone Jr. has been the driving force in major New Jersey auto dealerships for nearly four decades. To give back to the community that has supported his businesses, Sansone created the "Hope For A Ride" program. Sansone Jr's 66 Automall partners with local nonprofit organizations, such as Lunch Break, to donate vehicles to local families and individuals in need of reliable transportation. Whether to get to work, to drive a family member to an ongoing medical treatment, or to get to school to earn a degree, these donations can be life-changing. Since the program's inception, Sansone Jr. has donated nearly 50 cars. His dealerships also participate in the “Basket Brigade,” which contributes hundreds of meals to families in need during the holiday season. He and his wife, Christine, are Monmouth Beach residents.

The host of the gala, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, has her own Lunch Break connections.

She will be seen next in a supporting role in “Eileen,” starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie, and directed by William Oldroyd. She and her husband, actor and producer Peter Hogan, established Emerald Caz Productions in 2019.

Married to former Lunch Break Board member Peter Hogan for 29 years, both Siobhan and Peter are longtime supporters of Lunch Break’s mission, the news release said.

For more information on sponsorships and tickets for the gala, contact Development Manager Jill Gwydir-Govel at 732-747-8577, Ext. 3107, or jgwydir@lunchbreak.org.

Lunch Break accepts donations online at www.lunchbreak.org or at its headquarters, 121 Drs. James Parker Blvd. in Red Bank.