Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Freeport Armory saw its largest turnout in years this week as close to 600 veterans arrived for the 2025 Nassau County Veterans Stand Down, a pre-Thanksgiving tradition that has grown into one of Long Island’s most significant support events for former servicemembers.
Hosted by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, the Stand Down once again offered winter essentials, food, and access to supportive services — the result of months of coordination.
“We start this probably July to get it coordinated,” said Ralph Esposito, director of the Veterans Service Agency. “We pick a date. It’s always the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.”
He said the Freeport location remains ideal for the drive-through operation, where lines often stretch from the Armory all the way toward the Freeport train station.
“Well worth it,” he added. “Yeah, you go home feeling great.”
Esposito said the most pressing challenges facing local veterans at this time of year include “PTSD, education, jobs — big thing,”
He noted that transportation remains a challenge for some homebound veterans, who often rely on fellow members of VFW, American Legion and DAV halls.
“That’s a brotherhood in itself,” he said.
The Veterans Stand Down was supported by a broad coalition of partners, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, General Needs, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, P.C. Richard & Son, Home Depot, Bedgear, the Nassau County Police Department, Long Island Cares, Island Harvest, My Country 96.1 FM, PSEG Long Island, and Reworld.
Among the largest contributors is General Needs, a veteran-focused nonprofit that coordinates winter essentials for the event.
“This was the most successful stand down we ever had, really,” said General Needs founder Lonnie Sherman. “We had a tremendous amount of people. It’s to give back.”
“We’re giving back to the vets that came to their country.” Sherman said “All it is is a thank you to vets, just a simple thank you for doing what you’ve done for this country.”
Sherman, who has been doing this work since 2008, said the need never seems to shrink.
“It just keeps slowly raising,” he said. He noted that many veterans who are considered “housed” are still living in shelters.
“My definition of homeless, you don’t have your own refrigerator,” he said, adding that many of the veterans they encounter struggle with PTSD and related challenges. “Let’s spend some money and see if we can get the support that these men and women need.”
Long Island Cares, the regional food bank, played a major role again this year, distributing enough food for veterans to leave with full Thanksgiving meals.
“We gave out over 500 turkeys and packages of turkey fixings, canned vegetables and mashed potato mix and stuff like that,” said Fern Summer, who works with veterans through the organization. “We probably gave out 590 things of food. We ran out of most turkeys and a significant amount of other things. But I think all the veterans went away happy, and this was a phenomenal event.”
Organizers estimate last year’s total at 525 recipients; this year came just short of 600, marking the event’s continued growth nearly two decades into its run at the Freeport Armory.
For many of the volunteers and supporters, the mission remains simple: to remind veterans that their service is valued and remembered. As Sherman put it, “Thank you for doing what you’ve done for this country, able to have the freedoms we have.”
For more information on veteran support programs, call the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency at (516) 572-6565.
