Nets, Bon Jovi provide food to those affected by US gov’t shutdown

The Brooklyn Nets basketball team and music icon Jon Bon Jovi have joined forces to help workers affected by the partial US government shutdown, the longest in history, which has left some 800,000 people without paychecks for more than a month.

The Nets on Tuesday at their stadium, the Barclays Center , offered food to US federal workers in cooperation with the New York City Food Bank, which dispatched one of its mobile units to the stadium, where it distributed food to some 500 families.

In addition, the Food Bank deployed its personnel to provide information to the people who showed up about other centers they can visit to get free food or community kitchens in their neighborhoods.

This kind of initiative led the president of the Food Bank, Margarette Purvis, to issue a warning about the dramatic decline in their services given that the government shutdown has prevented the dispatch of more food to her organization.

The Food Bank moves 120 meals per minute and so their supply dwindles quickly, Purvis told the local NY1 media outlet.

Meanwhile, Bon Jovi offered free meals on Monday from noon until 2 pm at his restaurant: JBJ Soul Kitchen in the town of Red Bank, New Jersey.

Also participating in the charitable endeavor was the Phil and Tammy Murphy Family Foundation, an organization founded by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife.

Bon Jovi’s restaurant is a non-profit operation in which diners can sit down and eat free of charge and where they can offer their services as volunteers in place of paying full price for the meals.

Other institutions these days are offering support to federal workers, including the Hotel Association of New York City Inc., which is providing free stays at its hotels in emergency cases, and communications giant AT&T, which is providing a grace period for the payment of past bills.