House to host briefing on vets in the farm bill

A bipartisan group of House members will host a briefing Friday on programs in the farm bill that support farmer veterans and reduce veterans' food insecurity.

The briefing will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room 1302 of the Longworth House Office Building. It will also be livestreamed on the Facebook page of Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.

The briefing will be hosted by Pingree and Reps. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, Mike Bost, R-Ill., Rick Crawford, R-Ark., eff Denham, R-Calif., Al Lawson, D-Fla., Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and Tim Walz, D-Minn.

Josh Protas, vice president of public policy at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, will be the moderator.

Federal agency panel

▪ Diane Cullo, adviser to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and director, USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement

▪ Christine Going, chief of Nutrition and Food Service, Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center

▪ Ally Logsdon, health system specialist, Veterans Affairs Department

▪ Mark Toal, regional vets' employment coordinator, Labor Department

▪ Jaime Wood, director of policy and engagement, Office of Veterans Business Development, Small Business Administration

Farm bill panel

▪ Greg Douquet, retired U.S. Marine Corps and advisory board member, Blue Star Families

▪ Hugo Mogollon, executive director, Community Foodworks

▪ Tim Keefe, retired U.S. Navy and resident of Augusta, Maine

▪ Gary Matteson, vice president for young, beginning, small farmer programs and outreach at Farm Credit System and president of the Farmer Veteran Coalition board of directors

▪ LaRon Murrell, retired U.S. Army and veteran farm fellow, Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture

–The Hagstrom Report