Food, Glorious Food: Back Then…The Unofficial History of NJ 101.5

Over the years, we here at New Jersey 101.5 have been treated to more than our share of free eats.   Some of it has been purchased by management.  But a lot of it has come in, "through the front door," meaning free and "help yourself."

What kind of food?  Literally eveything from soup to nuts.  Sometimes it's a local restaurant or bakery anxious to get some publicity. Sometimes it's a fan of New Jersey 101.5 who just likes to see us well fed. We are always grateful for everyone's generosity, and the food, for the most part, is always good.

I remember, one time, back then, a couple of different chain restaurants came into New Jersey 101.5 with a complete hot and cold smorgasbord of stuff for lunch. Wow! What a nice spread!

Dennis and Judy seem to attract a fair amount of food volunteers. I think in part because Dennis has talked so many times about his kitchen exploits. So restaurants, bakeries diners... especially those of an Italian flavor...have never been shy about stopping in with the finest of their wares for Dennis and Judy to sample. Since I work with them on many days, I used to joke with Dennis. "Hey Denn," I will say. I am getting hungry. Can you get some of your people in here?" I guess you might call them, "Dennis and Judy's foodies."

I remember when Carton and Rossi were our afternoon team. Back then, Craig Carton set the tone by making his very first afternoon show topic on New Jersey 101.5 about, "whether it's called sauce or gravy." What followed on many afternoons was a never-ending parade of food from restaurants and the like. One deli used to come in on a regular basis with these HUGE sandwiches...I am talking foot-thick sandwiches. And then there were the on-air tasting contests.

And there was Art Brown. Art served as New Jersey's Secretary of Agriculture from 1982 to 2001. Besides being a great news source for all things concerning farming, Art was also a farmer. And he was very generous about sharing his, "Jersey Fresh" produce with us. I can still remember the baskets and baskets of Tomatoes, Corn, Peaches and other stuff that Art would send our way back then. Thank you again, Art!

Someone a long time ago joked about the ravenous appetite of our staff for anything that comes in that is good-tasting and FREE. They said, "if you came in here and set down a bowl of bread crumbs in the outer lobby, the staff would still pick the bowl clean, because a) it's food, b) it's free.

If you work here and you watch your weight, sometimes it can be hell. There is a constant, "siren song" being played of the many and tempting tasty delights available. It is tough to fight off that temptation.

But to the many, many of you who have shared your gustatory delights of every variety with us...THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

And, KEEP IT UP!!!