TAUNTON, Mass. (WPRI) — A Taunton father is battling cancer, but his family won’t have to worry about putting food on the table.

Mark Rivers is fighting cancer for a second time, and his wife Jessica has to be home full time to care for their children who have special needs.

That led former New England Patriot Joe Andruzzi and Stop and Shop to surprise the Rivers Family with a year’s worth of free groceries.

“You really helped give us the space we needed to come to terms with the news and not have to worry about bills. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of this,” Jessica said.

Andruzzi is a cancer survivor himself and said he was lucky to be able to take care of his own bills when he was sick.

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation has been working to support cancer patients for the past 15 years.