MIX 101.5 Sets New Record for BackPack Buddies Food Drive Listeners and Local Sponsors Make Contributions to Help Local Children Receive Food on Weekends

MIX’s Vanna Fox (far left) & Nicki Morse (far right) collect backpacks from generous donors alongside hard-working volunteers.

MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM raised over $55,000 during its annual BackPack Buddies Food Drive on Thursday, August 18, 2011, to help the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. In additional to the monetary donations; 22,000 pounds of food was collected.

Bill Jordan and Lynda Loveland of Bill & Lynda in the Morning kicked off the all day event encouraging MIX 101.5 listeners to donate food, new backpacks or monetary contributions at the two drive locations: Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh and Crossroads Plaza in Cary.

“We are also truly grateful for the MIX 101.5 leadership and commitment in spotlighting childhood hunger.”  Jill Staton Bullard, co-founder and CEO of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, says, “With over 111,000 children in our region facing food hardship, it takes all of us working together to make sure our children are fed.”

MIX’s Jim Kelly (right) interviews Inter-Faith Food Shuttle CEO Jil Bullard on air during the drive.

Volunteers & staffers collect donations from generous MIX listeners.

Over 110,000 children in a seven county region rely on free or reduced lunches during the school year.

The BackPack Buddies Program is designed to meet the needs of these children when other resources are not available by providing backpacks filled with enough food for six healthy meals and two healthy snacks that children take home on the weekend. The empty backpacks are collected after the weekend and refilled for the next weekend’s use.

WRAL-TV’s David Crabtree (left) joins MIX’s Lynda Loveland in asking listeners to stop by & donate.

MIX’s Vanna Fox (left) & Bill Jordan (right) accept a $5,000 check from Dunkin Donuts during the drive.

For more information, or to donate, visit the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s website at www.foodshuttle.org.

Thanks to WRAL-FM’s Jenny Clements for this capcom story & these capcom photos.