Final Thoughts on Food-A-Bago 2017

17 years ago, the new Whale morning show host at the time - Steve Willett, came to me with an idea he was involved in the past, where he would live in an RV for a week, collecting non-perishable food for Broome County CHOW.

The premise was to fill up the RV so that he literally had no room left to live in it. It was a great idea, but we had some homework to do, to make everything come together for it to be successful. And so we did.

The first week in November for the next 10 years, Steve would spend an entire week in a travel trailer (yes we allowed him bathroom breaks) and each year the camper filled up with food to help families in need for the holidays.

When Steve and his family moved to the southern portion of Pennsylvania, we had to re-think our strategy, and that lead to making this WAAL only event, a five station event, with 98.1 The Hawk, Wild 104, Newsradio 1290 WNBF and Sportsradio 1360 WYOS.

The power of five radio stations meant more people aware of the need in our community and more donations. Different years brought different results. In 2006 and 2011, our community was hit hard by flooding, so donations were less than normal.

As far as I'm concerned, after that first can or box of food arrives, the effort is a success. But of course, each year, we are in awe of the kindness and giving our community puts forth.

Well, this year we reached numbers that have never been reached before. The previous record number of pounds of food was just over 8000 pounds, This year, the community donated over 13,000 pounds of food, along with gift cards, checks, and cash.

The folks at Broome County CHOW are speechless. We knew you would come through, and you did. For that we thank you. You never know when someone may need some assistance from Broome County CHOW. It could be any of us at any time, and it's a comfort to know that help will always be there. We look forward to Food-A-Bago 2018 next November!

Take a look at our video. It's more than words can express.