The kosher sound of local radio

When Shalom FM began broadcasting to north London two weeks ago, listeners complained that the aerial - on the roof of a Jewish study centre in Hendon - was too low to deliver a strong signal. So a deal was struck with the neighbouring Methodist church to transmit from its steeple ladder. "Ecumenical co-operation," explains Barend Velleman, the station manager, with a smile.

It's the sort of deal Shalom FM, Britain's only Jewish radio station, has become good at. Some adept haggling with the Hendon Bagel Bakery has ensured a daily nosh supply in exchange for a few adverts, and a compromise with a local Brownie pack has meant the studio occupies the Yakar Educational Foundation's library. This must be one of the few live radio stations where Brownies regularly skip past the mix decks on their way to their storeroom.

When the Evening Standard dropped by on Monday evening, the station's owner, Richard Ford, was chatting on-air to Elvis Shmelvis, "the only Jewish trumpet-playing Elvis impersonator - the perfect cabaret act for weddings, bar mitzvahs and parties". Once Mr Shmelvis had alerted listeners to his availability, it was time for Denise Phillips, "mother of three children and a leading Jewish chef", to feed up her host as she demonstrated her chicken-withapricots special. As adverts rolled for Blooms and the Golders Green Kosher Deli, it became clear that this is one radio station that could not function with a rule against food in the studio.

"One presenter's wife phoned up while he was on air, to ask him, 'Lawrence, have you eaten?'" Velleman says, as the guests arrive for the Jewish Dating Show. It is, apparently, one of the station's early hits, alongside the shows run by DJ Neal, a club promoter, who takes calls and gives away tickets to balls and "Jew dos". Antony Costa, from the boy band Blue, is promised as a future studio guest; in the meantime, listeners have heard Denis Norden, as well as a Palestinian Authority representative and Simon Round, a journalist at the Jewish Chronicle. "Everybody I know who's Jewish knows about Shalom FM, even if they don't listen," Mr Round says. "I suppose I'd listen myself every now and then."

The station broadcasts on 87.9FM for 24 hours, six days a week, offering a range of programmes, including a Jewish version of Streetmates, Rabbi Rosen's Thought for the Day, and a show from veteran DJ Emperor Rosko. At night it receives programmes from Voice of Israel radio. It is probably the only station to have a Lubavitch rabbi as a DJ, and certainly the only one to have received a message from the Chief Rabbi offering "special good wishes from my mum".

Operating on a restricted service licence until 2 February, Shalom FM is officially raising money for the Jewish National Fund, while gauging demand for a permanent station.

Richard Ford, a curtains and blinds salesman from Edgware who has been working 18-hour days, sees it as his mission "to bring young people back to Judaism, to ensure its continuation in this country in whatever form ... and to get out alive".

He explains that young Jews in London are frustrated that they lack a voice. " Whenever you get a representative of the Jewish community, it's always (Blair aide) Lord Levy or (Board of Deputies president) Jo Wagerman," he says. "They're not the future of this community; the young people are."

Mr Ford, a former presenter on Spectrum Radio, has raised around £20,000 to launch Shalom FM, and is backed by community organisations such as Jewish Care. Adverts have been sold door-to-door, and about 50 volunteers have offered their help, ranging from actresses to a former announcer at Tottenham Hotspur.

There is no time for strict job descriptions: Barend Velleman presents the Jewish news round-up that follows the IRN news headlines, as well as a classical music programme and chat shows. Yes, he admits, they make mistakes (such as the loss of the news feed for two hours on Monday - someone pulled out a wire), but "that's because people haven't seen a deck before. Still, they're taking a real sense of pride in it."

Velleman, who works for a housing association, hopes to persuade 20 wealthy benefactors to back the station if it goes permanent. Each would underwrite £25,000 a year to meet its estimated £500,000 overheads, but they would have a huge impact on a community he estimates in London at 150,000.

"The Jewish community's voice needs to be heard, especially now that magazines like the New Statesman are writing about the Zionist 'conspiracy' - I've never seen anything so offensive," he says. "Every Jewish community of more than 50,000 people in the world has its own radio station - why can't we?"

Richard Ford, however, is exhausted after two weeks. Would he go permanent?

"Personally, no," he says. "I'd be dead within a month."