Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno stopped by to urge people to donate and take a photo with Open Pantry Agency Director Nicole Lussier.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — Two radio hosts, 52 hours, four trucks and one mission: to feed people in need this holiday season.
Those were the results of Rock 102’s 32nd annual Mayflower Marathon Food Drive, which raised more than $260,000 in food and monetary donations for Springfield’s Open Pantry Community Services.
Mike Baxendale and Steve Nagle, hosts of Rock 102’s Bax & Nagle morning show, took to the airwaves at 6 a.m. on Nov. 24, broadcasting from a trailer outside the South End Market at MGM Springfield. Scores of volunteers worked in shifts to load donations into truck trailers, stacking cardboard boxes and bags of canned vegetables, boxed pasta and other non-perishable goods.
This year, the drive filled four truck trailers with food for Open Pantry Community Services, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and food support services. Referring to Rock 102 and the Bax and Nagle Morning Show, Open Pantry Agency Director Nicole Lussier said, “They’re so good to us. They’re always encouraging people to donate to the Open Pantry. We’re so grateful.”
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
Businesses and organizations often place donation boxes in a prominent area to collect drop-offs, maximizing their donations. William Sapelli Elementary School in Agawam used this strategy. On the first morning of the marathon, two vehicles pulled up to drop off donations from the school, and volunteers unloaded box after box of foodstuffs, 605 items in all. The Hampden County District Attorney’s Office held an internal donation collection and hosted a public food drive at the Big Y on Boston Road in Wilbraham. The efforts “raised more than $1,400 in cash donations and filled a large State Police cruiser van to the brim with nonperishable food items” for the Mayflower Marathon, said Payton North, communications director for the District Attorney’s office.
“The response this year was nothing short of extraordinary,” Rock 102 Director of Content Alex Byrne said in a press release. “The generosity of the people of Western Mass. continues to inspire us year after year.”
The need is particularly great this year. According to a July 2025 study by the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham, Western Massachusetts leads the state in food insecurity, with 54% of households in Hampden County struggling to feed their families. That is up from 48% the previous year.
Operating the Mayflower Marathon is a massive undertaking, and each year, Rock 102 partners with sponsors to fund the effort. This year’s sponsors included The Springfield Thunderbirds, Capitol Relocation and Logistics, XFINITY, Camping World of West Hatfield, Arment Trucking, Liberty Bank and Beaulieu Home Improvement.
This year, the drive was dedicated to John O’Brien, who formerly hosted the morning show with Baxendale. O’Brien, who had previously been inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, died of cancer on Nov. 23.
“John was, and will always remain, a cornerstone of Rock 102’s history, and will be remembered fondly by numerous friends and colleagues,” the radio station said in the press release. “Among his many contributions, one of the most enduring is the Mayflower Marathon food drive. John helped launch this incredible event 32 years ago, and it will continue for many years to come in his honor.”
