WRBP radio offers listeners 'shout outs' for donating food

The food drive in the black community started about nine years ago.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Hundreds of area residents will get their 15 seconds of fame and dozens of others will be supplied with food this holiday season as part of a local radio station's program to feed the needy.
Youngstown-based WRBP 102-JAMZ radio is sponsoring the ninth-annual Soul Christmas program. Listeners who contribute nonperishable food items are given the opportunity to record a "shout out" -- a short message or greeting to family and friends -- to be played on the air near Christmas.
"The whole reason for the drive is to meet the shortage of food around the holidays with the increased demand," said Debora Johnson of DJ Public Relations Inc. "We want everyone to participate."
All shout outs will be aired Saturday and Sunday. Those shout outs collected Tuesday at Gleaners Food Bank on Pyatt Street will be aired Christmas Eve. People picking up food baskets from Gleaners also will be permitted to give a short greeting.
Johnson said radio personality Frankie "Mr. Lucky" Halfacre and a former WRBP employee started the food drive nine years ago as a fun way to collect food in the black community. She said the Soul Christmas campaign has grown since that time into a community staple.
"Frankie recognized a need for the minority community to participate more in the collection and donating of food," she said. "There is always a need for greater participation and, in return, participants get about a minute of stardom."
Food collection
Johnson said the food campaign has been successful because the radio station and its on-air personalities come to various locations such as churches, schools and community centers within the community instead of waiting for individuals to bring the goods to the station.
Armed with a portable recording device and microphone, Halfacre and other WRBP employees wait at various locations around the area to collect food items from Soul Christmas contributors. After the food has been donated, the microphone comes on, and the person makes a brief message.
Johnson said the station also plays a list of soulful Christmas songs and incorporates stories and poetry while the shout outs are being aired.
Johnson said the radio station also takes the food collection to western Pennsylvania. All items collected in Pennsylvania, she said, remain in that state for distribution.
Johnson estimates the program collects a ton of canned food and other nonperishable items annually, and she expects donations to be higher this year with the drive's growing popularity.
She said the food items are given to various churches, community groups and the Gleaners Food Bank, Pyatt Street, Youngstown, for distribution.
Soul Christmas representatives will be at the Southwest Gardens in Farrell, Pa., today and at Gleaners on Tuesday.
jgoodwin@vindy.com