Red Bank: Stewart To Host Lunch Break Gala Honoring Gwen Love

RED BANK, NJ — Lunch Break's "Celebrating the Legacy” gala will honor Executive Director Gwendolyn Love - and Lunch Break - for its 40 years of social service to those in need, the agency announced.

Love will be honored with the Norma Todd Service Award for her leadership of the organization at the fall gala on Oct. 20 at Tilling House at Suneagles Golf Club in Eatontown.

"In honoring Gwendolyn Love as our devoted leader, we also take stock of the support, through gestures large and small, that has made Lunch Break the vital community institution it is today," organizers of the event said.

And Jon Stewart, host of the Apple TV+ series “The Problem with Jon Stewart,” will once again host the event, organizers said.

Love said everyone connected to the multi-faceted social services nonprofit is looking forward to this year’s gala:

“We are thrilled to have Jon Stewart as our host and are excited to debut a new venue through our community partners at Suneagles. I couldn’t be more proud of our volunteers, board, community supporters and staff for their continued commitment to our mission,” she said.

And Stewart, an area resident who shows support for the organization in many ways all year long, commented on how integral its work is to the community:

“Lunch Break has provided invaluable services to our community for 40 years. It’s essential in normal times and its value has only grown in these difficult times. I’m always impressed by their compassion and thorough execution of not just food insecurity issues, but job training and overall life management support,” he said.

The Oct. 20 event, which takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., will feature dinner, dancing, entertainment, raffles and an auction of premium items. 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, housing solutions and life skills to those struggling with financial burdens in Monmouth County and beyond.

For tickets, visit https://one.bidpal.net/lbfallgala2023/welcome. For sponsorships and further information, contact Development Director Jill Govel-Gwydir at 732-747-8577, ext. 3107, or jgwydir@lunchbreak.org.

The organization provided some background on Love and the activities of Lunch Break.

"Gwen took up the torch handed off by Norma Todd, the organization’s founder, in 2008, and she was a critical force in driving the once humble soup kitchen to become the multi-faceted, social services nonprofit that it is now.

"Today, Lunch Break’s mission goes far beyond the hugely important offer of food and clothing to people in need. And about that awe-inspiring food service, it’s useful to know that during Gwen’s tenure, Lunch Break never missed a meal, even amid catastrophic storms or global pandemics. That includes the 2,000-plus hot meals served monthly and groceries provided to countless families.

"Thousands of people also receive clothes and needed household items, and more than 1,000 families receive toys and gift cards through the Holiday Toy Program," the agency said.

Love sees the Lunch Break mission as a "holistic combination" of a hand up, as well as sustaining help preparing a client for a new job, or in sorting out tangled finances, or in finding a place to live, the agency said, noting such programs as the Alliance For Success mentoring and college-prep program for at-risk high school students; Womyn's Worth Mentoring Program; and a Life Skills employment coaching program to provide clients with a pathway to self-sufficiency.

Lunch Break also incorporated Family Promise of Monmouth County in 2021 into its network of programs, to provide housing solutions, counseling, outreach and social services to Monmouth County families.

During Love's tenure, she has also initiated and has overseen two major expansions of the Lunch Break home at Drs. James Parker Boulevard - one completed in 2015 and a current second project that will double the size of the facility.

"Although the Norma Todd Service Award this year is in Gwen’s name, in truth it belongs to the Lunch Break community – the clients, volunteers, supporters and staff who have faithfully advanced our mission, with Gwen’s leadership, through the toughest of times," the organizers of the gala said.