This afternoon join Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Jon Carson, White House Director of Public Engagement, along with women leaders in the field of local foods through a Google+ Hangout to hear their stories and answer questions.  This is also the unveiling of the updated USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. An innovative digital guide and map, the KYF Compass highlights USDA-supported local food projects around the country. The 2.0 version features thousands of local food projects in all 50 states and includes keyword and zip code search features.

Hangout Details:

• When: Join us at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 17^th, 2012
• Where: Watch on WhiteHouse.gov/live, or on the White House Google+ page
• Engage: Ask questions and join the discussion on the White House Google+ Page, on Twitter using the hashtag #WHHangout, or here. Questions can be submitted ahead of time and during the event.

Tuesday’s event will be an opportunity to talk about local food with some of these women from around the country:

• Cory Carman of Carman Ranch in Oregon, a fourth-generation farmer who works closely with local processors and distributors to sell her beef directly to customers and to local universities, colleges, and restaurants;
• Susan Noble, Executive Director of the Vernon Economic Development Association (VEDA) in Wisconsin, who spearheaded revitalizing an abandoned factory into a successful food businesses incubator;
• Chris Kirby, who coordinates a Farm to School program on behalf of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and connects local producers with hundreds of local schools across the state;
• Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore, MD, who created the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative, an inter-governmental collaboration aiming to increase access to healthy affordable food across the city;
• Pamela Roy, Executive Director of Farm to Table in Albuquerque, NM and  Director of the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council, which advocates the connection between local food systems, health, nutrition, hunger and stewardship;
• Valerie Segrest of the Muckelshoot Indian Tribe near Seattle, WA, who  works as the Community Nutritionist and Native Foods Educator for the Northwest Indian College’s Cooperative Extension Department and sees local and traditional foods as a way to preserve her heritage.