The compilation is available on a pay-what-you-can basis with a suggested donation of $10. Donations will benefit the USM Oakhurst Campus Food Pantry.
PORTLAND, Maine — As many families head into the holiday season and local food pantries see increased need, University of Southern Maine radio station WMPG 90.9 FM has released a compilation of local music to raise emergency funding for the university’s Oakhurst Food Pantry.
The digital album, “Local Motives #1,” features tracks from 28 musicians recorded live during appearances on WMPG’s weekly program “Local Motives,” according to the station. The lineup includes Grammy winner Dave Gutter, indie rock group Weakened Friends, and acts such as Little Oso, One Hundred Thorns, Snake Lips, Brit Martin, Vices Inc., TheWorst, Whitney Walker, Plague Dad, and Xander Nelson.
WMPG said the compilation dropped on Wednesday on Bandcamp and is available on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a suggested $10 donation. All proceeds will go directly to the pantry, which the station said is facing an unprecedented surge in demand at a time when funding and supplies are strained.
“The campus food bank is quite literally a lifeline that was already stretched thin,” WMPG Development Director Annella Linton said in a news release, “and now that we’re heading into the holiday season and beyond that, the teeth of the winter, we wanted to do something that could help people get food on the table, and this is what we came up with.”
The pantry provides shelf-stable food, microwaveable meals, and snack options for students across USM’s campuses. According to its website, there is no paperwork to fill out and no expectation to “prove” one’s need to access the pantry, just a UMS ID. Access to pantry resources is not limited.
For more information about USM’s Oakhurst Campus Food Pantry, including hours, visit here.
Community members can help by purchasing the album via Bandcamp, making a direct food donation through the pantry’s Amazon wish list here, or donating directly to the pantry here.
“Local Motives,” the station’s weekly Southern Maine music showcase, airs Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. on WMPG 90.9 FM and at WMPG.org.
WMPG is a community radio station based on USM’s Portland campus and is operated by students and volunteers from the greater Portland area.