JBJ Soul Kitchen Alters First Responders' Chili Cook-Off For 2020

TOMS RIVER, NJ — If you love chili, make sure the JBJ Soul Kitchen is on your list for dinner over the next month: their 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off is taking a new form.

The contest, which features the chili creations of local first responders, begins Tuesday and will feature a different homemade chili as an appetizer choice on the Toms River menu each week for the next four weeks.

The annual chili cook-off is a fundraiser for the JBJ Soul Foundation and also honors and celebrates local first responders. Usually a one-day event, the change to offering it with meals is in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's how you can take part:

For a $20 donation, patrons get the regular three-course meal, and when they select the featured chili as their appetizer, the contestants receive a point.

The group with the most points at the end of the contest wins.

Patrons can either dine-in at JBJ Soul Kitchen, 1769 Hooper Ave., Toms River, or order online for curbside pick-up. The donations help feed individuals and families in need in the community.

JBJ Soul Kitchen has been offering to-go meals since August in the midst of the pandemic.

Here is the lineup of featured chilis:

• Oct. 20-24: New Jersey State Police
• Oct. 27-31: Tinton Falls EMS
• Nov. 3-7: Toms River Fire Department #1
• Nov. 10-14: Island Heights First Aid

The winning contestant will be announced on or around Nov. 21.

JBJ Soul Kitchen opened in May 2016 as part of the B.E.A.T. Center, a joint effort to combat hunger in Ocean County and also to help those fighting homelessness and poverty with resources to improve their lives.

JBJ Soul Kitchen is a nonprofit community restaurant with a pay-it-forward approach, where paying guests donate a minimum of $20 for a three-course meal that goes toward the cost of meals for guests in need.

Guests unable to pay are invited to come in to enjoy a meal and learn how volunteering at the restaurant can support their individual and family needs—from access to available resources in the community through our partner network to tasty meals in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

JBJ Soul Kitchen is part of the JBJ Soul Foundation, a 510(c)3 organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty, hunger, and homelessness through partnerships, programs, and grant funding.

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