The Aroostook County Branch of the local Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter presented a certificate of appreciation to McCain Foods USA in Easton recently in recognition of McCain’s donation of an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) that was pressed into service to provide food, water and cleanup supplies to flood victims during the recent flooding in Aroostook County.
“With hundreds of families affected by the flood waters,” said Patrick Adams, interim executive director of the Pine Tree Chapter, “the generous gift of an American Red Cross ERV based in Caribou could not have been more valuable or more timely.”
Joyce Knorr, manager of the Chapter’s Aroostook County Branch, credited the food processing company for its ongoing support of the towns in which its employees live. “McCain Foods has been a very special partner with the Red Cross in service to the communities of The County, and we are very grateful that the vehicle they donated was here to help so many people.”
Plant Manager Dan Paradis accepted the Red Cross appreciation certificate on behalf of McCain Foods.
A Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle is a self-contained, seven-ton mobile service delivery van the size of a large ambulance. It is equipped with food, beverage and materials storage compartments and space, power source, two-way radio and positioning electronics. Trained ERV teams trained by the Red Cross can deliver 500 meals and drinks to disaster survivors, emergency personnel and relief workers. At house fires or floods, the ERV provides hot coffee, personal comfort, hygiene and clean-up kits, and even toys for children. The ERV is a safe, warm place for disaster caseworkers to interview families in need of help. With a generator on board it can also provide a mobile source of much needed light and heat and electric power.
Combined with the Pine Tree Chapter’s shelter trailers, the ERV donated by McCain Foods has increased local Red Cross ability to mobilize food, power, cots, bedding, and emergency supplies for hundreds of people in Aroostook County.
The Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross, with offices in Caribou, Bangor, Ellsworth and Rockland, serves people in every Aroostook County community as well as in seven other northern and eastern Maine counties. Since 1919, the Chapter’s disaster response, Armed Forces Emergency Services, and Health and Safety Programs have helped people respond to, prepare for, and prevent natural and man-made disasters.
McCain Foods USA is part of a privately-owned, multinational leader in the frozen food industry. McCain Foods is the world’s largest producer of frozen French fries and the manufacturer of other quality food products sold in more than 125 countries around the world.
Staff photo/Mark Putnam
The Aroostook County Branch of the local Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter presented a certificate of appreciation to McCain Foods USA in Easton yesterday in recognition of McCain’s donation of an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) that was pressed into service to provide food, water and cleanup supplies to flood victims during the recent flooding in Aroostook County. Attending the July 15 presentation were, from left, Patrick Adams, interim executive director of Red Cross’ Pine Tree Chapter; Dan Paradis, Easton plant manager for McCain Foods; and Joyce Knorr, manager of the Chapter’s Aroostook County Branch.
