Market owner gives back to veterans, public safety workers

By Bella English

When I heard that Fred Zagami, owner of the Salem Food Market in Dedham, had started giving away free lunches to fellow veterans on the first Tuesday of each month, the name rang a bell. It turns out I’d written about another veteran named Zagami back in 2010: Jonathan Zagami, who was still a teenager in May 2002 when he shipped out with the first ground forces that invaded Iraq.

“Jon’s my cousin, and one of the reasons I’m doing this,” Fred said the other day, explaining why he is buying lunch for veterans despite taking a huge hit in his sales during the recent snowstorms.

Four days after he turned 18, Jonathan joined the Army Reserve. In Iraq, he cleared minefields, did demolition work, and built camps and guard towers for the soldiers. He returned to Needham two years later with post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury. He suffered a stroke, and had an enlarged heart from untreated high blood pressure. He was barely 20 years old.

With the help of his beloved sister, Jaime, who enrolled in classes with him and kept a close eye on things, Jonathan managed to finish University of Massachusetts Amherst. I remember being impressed with the bond between brother and sister. At graduation in 2008, they stood side by side, arms linked.

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