Press release

from Saga Communications

On Friday Sept. 28th, the 1st annual Mountain of Meals Food Drive came to an end after a 65-hour marathon radio broadcast. The result of the week-long event was nearly 6 tons of food for Manna Food Bank which will provide tens of thousands of meals to people in Western North Carolina.

Brian Blades, afternoon host on 105.9 the Mountain, was broadcasting on-site from the parking lot of Ingles on the corner of Patton Avenue and Leicester Highway from 6am to 7pm starting Monday, September 24th through Friday, September 28th for the food drive. Camping World of Asheville provided a new RV for Brian to call home during his time at Ingles.

The Mountain of Meals Food Drive took place in conjunction with Hunger Action Month to raise awareness for the plight of hungry citizens in this community. Hundreds of listeners from around Western North Carolina visited the Mountain of Meals campsite each day and generously contributed non-perishable food items and cash to support Manna Food Bank.

Nearly one ton of non-perishable food items were donated as well as $3476 in cash. For every dollar received, Manna Food Bank is able to get 3 pounds of food to a person in need.

The Mountain of Meals food drive would not have been possible without the generosity of Ingles Market which provided the space for 105.9 the Mountain to “camp out” in the parking lot of Ingles for 5 days. Ingles Markets also provided over $2500 in gift cards for those who donated. However, many of the kind patrons chose to use the card as a donation to back to Manna Food Bank.

Mountain of Meals was presented by 105.9 the Mountain and Ingles Markets. For pictures from the week-long broadcast, visit http://www.1059theMountain.com

Saga Communications of North Carolina is Western North Carolina’s leading radio advertising company, reaching thousands of listeners every week on the world-class radio stations of Mix 96.5 WOXL, 98-1 the RIVER , 105.9 The Mountain and ESPN Radio 1310 & 970.