Feed The Blues- Midsouth

05/31/2026

05/03/2025

PROJECT UPDATE, SPRING 2025.
Since December 2020, The Feed The Blues Midsouth musician help project has delivered monthly food bags to local musicians in need. This 100% volunteer powered project has delivered almost 3 tons of food to-date to musicians (still in need) and to musician widows from the pandemic!
Monetary, non-perishable food and toiletry contributions to this project continue to subside. Monthly food bag distributions are no longer possible. However, needed contributions come in at the least expected time, and we can fill another month of food bags for distribution.

Please consider making a tax deductible monetary contribution to the project at www.MemphisBluesSociety.com.
On the homepage: click on the link for the 'Papa Don McMinn Musician Fund' and make a secure, tax-deductible contribution.
- In the comments section of your contribution, type the word 'Food' OR 'Feed The Blues'. This lets the MBS know which humanitarian project to direct your most helpful contribution to.
- 100% of your contribution goes to purchase food from Feed The Blues partner organizations to fill food bags. THANK YOU!!

07/21/2024

PROJECT UPDATE, SUMMER 2024.
Since December 2020, The Feed The Blues Midsouth musician help project has delivered monthly food bags to local musicians in need. This 100% volunteer powered project has delivered 2 tons+ food to-date.
Earlier this year, monetary, non-perishable food and toiletry contributions started to subside.
There are still musicians in need, plus widows of musicians lost throughout the pandemic.
The project is no longer getting sufficient contributions to deliver monthly food bags. However, as enough contributions are collected, a food bag delivery will be put together.

Please consider making a tax deductible monetary contribution to the project:

08/12/2023

Memphis Blues Society/Radio Memphis "Feed the Blues" Musician Food Bag Project Overview, December 2020 thru July 2023.

‘FEED THE BLUES’ is a Food, Toiletries and Funds collection drive to support mid-south musicians in need. The ongoing monthly food bag delivery project (born from the effects of the pandemic) began December 2020 and continues today. The project is 100% volunteer powered along with partner organizations! All donated food, toiletries, monetary donations go to support local midsouth musicians!

Through July 2023, the project has delivered 730+ food bags (4,572lbs + of food)!

A BIG THANK YOU to the wonderful Memphis Blues Society/STARS volunteers, and partner organizations that make this humanitarian project possible!! Partner Organizations include:

• Donna D’Boyata / Fresh Produce On Wheels
• SuperLo Foods
• Reed’s Market (New Albany, north Mississippi locations)
• Shannon Rouse / Aldi Foods
• FedEx Community Outreach
• Geico Local Memphis

If you’re able, consider bringing non-perishable food & living essentials (toiletries, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) to the Radio-Memphis studio lobby, 9:30am– 2:30pm, Monday thru Friday, 4745 Poplar Ave., Suite B100 (basement), Memphis, TN 38117.
OR consider making a secure, online tax-deductible donation to the Memphis Blues Society Papa Don McMinn Musician Humanitarian Fund on the Memphis Blues Society website/homepage (http://www.MemphisBluesSociety.com) , click on the ‘Donate’ button below ‘Contribute to the MBS Papa Don McMinn Musician Fund’

For More Information:
• Call/text the Radio-Memphis business line at 901-352-0107
• Facebook: Feed the Blues, Midsouth

PLEASE SHARE THIS IMPORTANT MUSICIAN HELP CAMPAIGN with your friends, family, co-workers and businesses that might consider helping or being a sponsor

12/26/2022

Blessings to everyone this 2022 Holiday season!
The Memphis Blues Society/Radio-Memphis ”Feed the Blues” food bag project began it’s 25th month this December 2022. To-date the project has delivered over 2 tons of food to mid-south musicians.
In December 2020, this 100% volunteer powered project began collecting & delivering non-perishable food & toiletries to midsouth musicians in-need, once/month.
- Saturday Dec. 17, 2022: food was collected at local project partner SuperLo Foods for a special holiday Feed The Blues food bag distribution this month. I can’t say enough about the great people, support & help provided by SuperLo Foods for this special holiday project!
- Fantastic volunteers and local partner organizations make “Feed The Blues” possible! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS MADE THIS POSSIBLE!!
- Sunday Dec. 18: volunteers packed the special holiday food bags at the Radio-Memphis studio.
- Monday Dec 19, Donna D'Boyata (Fresh Produce On Wheels) delivered and placed fresh fruit in the food bags at Radio Memphis
- Last week and this week, volunteer drivers are delivering the special holiday food bags to local musicians.

For more information, to contribute or to volunteer to help, visit:
- Web: www.MemphisBluesSociety.com
- Facebook: Feed The Blues, Midsouth
- Phone/text: Radio-Memphis business line: 901-352-0107

06/15/2021

Ms Donna Houston D'Boyata with Fresh Produce On Wheels! A Big Thank You to Donna Houston D'Boyata!! Fresh Produce on Wheels has provided fresh vegetables in the monthly 'Feed the Blues (Midsouth)' food bags for local musicians in need since December 2020. For more information about Fresh Produce on Wheels: https://www.facebook.com/FRESH-Produce-on-Wheels-110785933937589
‘FEED THE BLUES’, Is Still Active and will be delivering food bags for June 2021 in the coming weeks. ‘FEED THE BLUES’ is a Food, Living Essentials and Funds collection drive to support mid-south musicians in need during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The loss of most live music has cost many musicians their art, livelihood and source of income to make a living. This has caused undo and unforeseen hardships throughout the music community. Radio-Memphis (http://www.Radio-Memphis.com
) and the Memphis Blues Society (http://www.MemphisBluesSociety.com
) are partners together with this drive. The FEED THE BLUES Musician help campaign in under way now and will continue until the Pandemic subsides, the community is safe and live music returns to some normalcy for musicians.
If you’re able, please consider bringing non-perishable food & living essentials (toiletries, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) to the Radio-Memphis studio lobby, 9:30am – 2pm, Monday thru Friday, 4745 Poplar Ave., Suite B-100 (basement), Memphis, TN 38117
OR consider making a secure, online tax-deductible donation to the Memphis Blues Society Papa Don McMinn Musician Humanitarian Fund: Look above on this age, click on the ‘Donate’ button below ‘Contribute to the MBS Papa Don McMinn Musician Fund’.
For more information:
Phone: call the Radio-Memphis business line at 901-352-0107.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Feed-The-Blues-101910538490452

04/23/2021

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ‘FEED THE BLUES Food Bags, APRIL 2021:
1. 3 Volunteers needed: Sun evening April 25, 6:45pm-9pm (approx) to assemble Feed the Blues food bags. (Radio-Memphis studio)
2. Volunteer drivers (2 people per car) are needed to pickup filled food bags at Radio-Memphis and deliver to musicians. The schedule is very flexible Mon. April 26 thru Thurs. April 29.
Your consideration to help is greatly appreciated!!
If you can help, please contact Mark E. Caldwell with Facebook Messenger. Include your name & the volunteer job you can help with.
Thank you!!
Mark Caldwell
Memphis Blues Society

03/23/2021

March 21, 2021: a big thank you to great Memphis Blues Society volunteers: Rosemary Granberry,
Susan Recker & Daniel Notowitz for preparing and filling Feed The Blues food/toiletries bags for March deliveries.
-This week, additional great Memphis Blues Society volunteers will deliver these food bags to midsouth musicians in-need.
-Thank you to all of the wonderful midsouth supporters that have contributed food, toiletries and monetary donations to buy food to help fill the food bags!
-Thank you also to the Feed The Blues local partner organizations:
- Fresh Produce on Wheels, Ms. Donna Houston D'Boyata
- Reed’s Market, New Albany, MS and their other Mississippi stores
- Stepherson’s SuperLo Markets, Memphis, TN

For more information on the Feed The Blues project, visit ‘Feed The Blues, Midsouth’ on Facebook. Thank you!!

03/12/2021

The recent snow storm, Memphis water crisis and grocery stocking shortages together have created a shortfall in food and toiletries contributions to the Feed The Blues project for March.
Please share and let potential contributors know the project is in need of any and all non-perishable food and toiletries contributions.
The drop off location is at the Radio-Memphis studio, 4745 Poplar Ave., Ste B100, Memphis, TN 38117, 9:30am-2pm, weekdays.

Monetary contributions can also be made to help buy groceries for the food bags. To make a secure, online contribution go the Memphis Blues Society homepage at http://www.MemphisBluesSociety.com.
Click on the link "Papa Don McMinn Musician Fund", follow the instructions to make a donation. Be sure to note in the comments section "Feed The Blues"

Also, please patronize these fine mid-south business partners with the Feed The Blues project:

Reeds Market, 300 W Bankhead St, New Albany, MS
https://www.facebook.com/ReedsNewAlbany

Fresh Produce on Wheels
https://www.facebook.com/FRESH-Produce-on-Wheels-110785933937589

Thank you! Mark Caldwell

01/31/2021

FEED THE BLUES
The Feed The Blues musician help project is getting ready to pack and deliver the next monthly food/ toiletries bags to local musicians in need.
A big thank you to all of the great Memphis Blues Society/STARS volunteers that make this possible!
Also thank you very much to the following special contributors:
1. Reed’s Market, Byhalia, MS
2. Donna Houston D'Boyata
3. Skip Howard, FedEx
4. Doc Bowers & Donna Bowers
5. And the many contributions from local friends!

The attached photos show the many contributions collected at the Radio-Memphis studio that will be packed into bags for delivery by volunteers this week.