Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Feb. 18, 2025 – Riceland Foods is partnering with several veterans’ advocacy groups to offer a free Veterans Benefits Clinic in Jonesboro.

Called Operation Homegrown Heroes, the clinic will take place March 4-5 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jonesboro Rice Division Employee Center, located at 216 N. Gee St. It will educate veterans on benefits they can receive, assist with compensation, pensions and healthcare claims, the appeals process and connect them with support services in their community.

“There’s no appointments,” said Nicholas Bertucci, the District 5 and 7 Veterans Service Officer for the Arkansas Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). “It’s all just kind of stand there in line or wait until [veteran’s] name is called.”

Partners are the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, the Jonesboro American Legion and VFW chapters, and assigned veteran service officers (VSO). VSO’s representing Craighead, Greene and Randolph Counties will be present.

“A lot of these veterans have no clue what form to do or the sequence or who to send it to and that’s why we exist,” Bertucci said. “A lot of veterans will have no idea that they’re entitled to all sorts of benefits and they’re like ‘Wow, this has changed my life forever.'”

While the clinic will serve veterans who work at Riceland Foods, it is open to the entire community.

Veterans interested in attending do not need to bring any paperwork; however, they will need their driver’s license to confirm their identity.

From there, a representative will fill out Form 2122, which allows the VA to represent the veteran and gain access to information such as service and medical records. Bertucci said this will allow the representative to start filling out other forms needed for the veteran to receive benefits, compensation and more.

Bertucci said the clinic is meant to guide veterans through the claims and benefits process, and they must follow up with their county’s VSO throughout the process.

“We’re not gonna gather and grasp all that information, ’cause this is a process that takes several months at a time,” Bertucci said. “The most important thing is ‘Hi, my name is Nick, I’m a veteran. I’m gonna sign this form to let you help me and I will follow up with you or my VSO that’s in the county that I live.'”