MMSF, Lee, Hague, Silvia organize food drive for veterans in honor of Fall River hero

A trio of Fall River officials and the MMSF are organizing a food drive for veterans in honor of a former Fall River man who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

During this difficult pandemic, MMSF, City Councilor Trott Lee, Massachusetts State Representative Alan Silvia, and Fall River VSO Ray Hague have put together the event to pass out food to local veterans. The event will be in honor of the late Sergeant First Class Eric Emond.

It is an event that Lee is proud to be a part of.

“The Massachusetts Military Support Foundation (MMSF) held a #Food4Vets event recently in Foxboro that was being shared on social media, and it turned out to be a very impressive operation. Two ladies who are involved with the local Veterans’ Kitchen at the Corky Row (Dawn Trahan and Dawn DeCosta) reached out to me with the idea to have them come to Fall River. I reached out to the MMSF President, who connected me with a veteran (Stephen Xiarhos) who has ties to the Fall River area. We connected very well because he knew Sergeant Emond very well, who I was also friends with as a child. SFC Emond helped found and run the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes organization to honor local Veterans, and Mr. Xiarhos’ son was unfortunately one of the soldiers honored. He and I decided to dedicate this #Food4Vets event in SFC Eric Emond’s honor. I believe this will be something we can consistently bring to the veterans in the area.”

Sgt. Emond who attended Osborn Elementary School, Healy Elementary School, Henry Lord Middle School, and Durfee High School, was killed by a roadside bomb on November 27th of 2018. His 7th combat tour.

Food supplies that will be handed out to veterans are expected to cover a span of 10-14 days . The drive will literally be a drive-up operation for safety reasons due to COVID-19. Recipients must remain in their vehicle at all times. Staff members will assist and verify recipients names that have signed up and will load the box of food into your vehicle.

The drive will be taking place on Saturday April 11th from 10: a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the former Sam’s Club parking lot at 834 Brayton Avenue in Fall River. Military ID is required.

To take part, register at the following link: Fall River #Food4Vets