March 27-28, 2025 at Epiphany Farms in Bloomington, Illinois

Join us for this groundbreaking 1.5-day summit that bridges the gap between agriculture, food systems, and healthcare!

The current state:

Healthcare delivery, food systems, and agriculture operate largely in isolation today, limiting our ability to address chronic disease and create sustainable food systems. Human health depends directly on food quality, which is determined by agricultural practices and planetary health throughout the food system from production to disposal. Consumers seek comprehensive guidance that goes beyond basic dietary recommendations – they want to understand preventive nutrition while making choices that are economically viable and culturally appropriate.

We envision a future where:

• Consumers have access to foods that support both their health and values
• Our food system supports environmental sustainability while meeting community health needs
• Healthcare systems and their providers are active participants in connecting their communities to health-promoting food systems
• Incorporate food systems and enhanced nutrition education into medicine curricula and residency training
• Farmers are supported in producing nutrient-dense foods through regenerative practices
• Institutions have clear pathways to source and serve health-promoting foods

This summit represents a crucial step toward realizing this vision by bringing together the key stakeholders needed to create systemic change.

Basil’s Harvest works with key players across food, farm, and healthcare systems to develop systemic solutions. This compelling summit will tap into the experiences gained by our team while working across systems to lead collaborative projects, transdisciplinary outreach, and hands-on workshops.

Registration is open through March 13, 2025. Limited seats available!

The 2025 Summit will take place March 27-28, 2025 at the Epiphany Farms Restaurant located at 220 E Front St, Bloomington, IL 61701.

Included in your registration:

• Evening networking reception and dinner featuring a welcome reception with artisanal appetizers and cash bar, a multi-course dinner celebrating regional ingredients, and an intimate storytelling through dessert. Hear firsthand experiences from farmers, healthcare providers, and food system innovators
• Refreshment breaks
• Exclusive networking opportunities to connect with diverse stakeholders across farm, food, and healthcare sectors
• Access to thought leaders and innovative solutions

Farmer All-Access Registration

Cost: $50

Erin Meyer, RD, MS

Erin Meyer, RD, MS is the founder and Executive Director of Basil’s Harvest, a nonprofit organized based in central Illinois that engages the power of regional regenerative food systems to promote human and planetary wellbeing. Our work connects farmers, institutions, health systems and businesses to build just and regenerative supply chains. We curate experiential learning programs, oversee collaborative research to expand understanding, and work hands-on with leaders to support them in creating and sustaining more resilient regional food systems.

Amy Christison, MD

Dr. Amy Christison is the Eliza J and Pedro A de Alarcon Associate Professor in Pediatrics at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. She is the medical director of Healthy Kids U at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois, a pediatric obesity care program, and the healthcare systems curricular lead for the U of I College of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests focus on childhood obesity prevention and treatment which includes how food systems, communities, and healthcare systems can promote nutrition security for children and their families. As a co-chair of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric Nutrition Security task force and a member of the Healthy Eating Active Living Food Systems Partners serving the Central Illinois Region, she has partnered with others to promote nutrition literacy and security.

Steve Erickson

Steve has served as Executive Director of Feeding Illinois since August 2018. Prior, he spent 24 years with the Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB), holding numerous leadership positions within that organization. Over his 30-plus years total in the food banking industry he has managed the entire spectrum of the supply chain and operations – from procurement to distribution and facilities to transportation. In his current role, Steve represents the combined interests and coordinates joint efforts and cohorts of the eight Feeding Illinois member food banks serving all 102 counties in Illinois. Working in conjunction with Feeding America and often aligning with other Partner State Associations and state agencies, his and Feeding Illinois’ food banks collective priority is to advocate for, provide, and increase equitable access to fresh, local, culturally appropriate foods and food assistance programs to meet the pertinent and nutritional needs of the food banks’ community agencies and Illinois neighbors. Previously, Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana; and a MS in International Agricultural Economics along with an MBA from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has since also obtained a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Steve and his wife Susan live in Campton Hills, IL.

Raghela Scavuzzo

Raghela Scavuzzo started with Illinois Farm Bureau as the Local Foods Program Manager in the Governmental Affairs and Commodities Division in 2017. She became the Associate Director of Food Systems Development for the organization in 2019 and the Executive Director of the Illinois Specialty Growers Association in 2018. In these roles, Raghela is responsible for developing and coordinating farmers and food market channels for food initiatives and food safety. This includes advocacy, policy development infrastructure development, providing technical assistance, and developing partnerships at the local, state, and national level. Prior to working with Illinois Farm Bureau, Raghela helped develop and coordinate a local food hub and food access program in Birmingham, Alabama. Raghela holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a bachelor’s degree in classical studies with a focus in Latin from Westminster College. She and a master’s degree in public health from Tulane University with a focus in nutrition.

Carl Rosier

Dr. Carl Rosier (co-PI) is a professional soil scientist focusing on soil microbial ecology and biochemistry. Dr. Rosier is founder of Agroecology Solutions, co-founder of Barking Dog Farms, and consulting scientist for both Basil’s Harvest and Bionutrient Institute. His research specializes in understanding the complex relationships between the soil microbiome, nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and soil structure. Specifically, Dr. Rosier’s research connects farm management strategies (i.e., conventional -organic certification) and environmental conditions influence on the soil microbiome driving critical soil ecosystem services. This work integrates advanced soil microbiology methods (i.e., next generation sequencing) in combination with standard soil measurements and long-term environmental monitoring.

Anya Knecht, PhD

Anya Knecht is the Assistant Director at I-Regen, University of Illinois, where her work spans agriculture, gut microbiome, and regenerative practices, integrating health and nutrition. She also founded Knecht Research Consulting and Design, focusing on human factors engineering and interdisciplinary research, emphasizing community engagement, system design, and education. Raised in the Midwest, Anya’s work is influenced by her experience on her 10-acre farm (Anya Farm), exploring the relationship between soil, food, farm, and health, aiming to create biodiverse systems responsive to climate challenges. At the Beckman Institute, she was instrumental in executing large-scale interdisciplinary studies on the effects of exercise, nutrition, and aging. The “Knecht Theory” she developed guides decision-making in health and agriculture, promoting adaptability, biodiversity, and sustainability through informed choices that address climate change, health, and the interdependence of soil and human health.

Traci Barkley

Traci comes from a long line of Midwestern family farmers, and has been involved in community-level health-related work all her life. Traci joined the staff of Sola Gratia Farm in March of 2014 after nearly 20 years working to protect, conserve and manage water resources as an aquatic ecologist and policy specialist for a statewide clean water advocacy organization as well as the state’s environmental regulatory agency. Barkley is beginning her 12th year as Director of Sola Gratia Farm and is responsible for directing all activities at Sola Gratia with primary focus on program development and implementation; community partnerships; and fundraising. Traci has a passion for feeding, empowering and enriching our communities’ nourishment and health as evidenced by participation and leadership in several partnerships, committees and projects addressing food production, distribution and engagement with particular focus on low-income and limited access residents.

Traci is an active member of Illinois Stewardship Alliance, helped launch the Illinois Local Food Farmers Caucus and currently serves on the Healthy Champaign Counties Committee and the Advisory Board of the UIUC Student Sustainable Farm. Traci earned a B.S in Ethology, Ecology and Evolution and a M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois.

Courtney Long

Janie Maxwell

Jolene Carlson

PARTNER

Midwest Dairy® represents 4,000 dairy farm families who are committed to providing nutritious, wholesome milk and dairy products. They share a great responsibility as stewards of land, resources and, of course, their cows. Midwest Dairy® works on behalf of our dairy farm families to share their sustainability stories , educate about the goodness of dairy and inspire confidence in the products and farming practices.

NCR-SARE offers competitive grants and educational opportunities for producers, scientists, educators, institutions, organizations and others exploring sustainable agriculture in America’s Midwest.

There will be a hotel block of reservations available for attendees at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington. Click here to access the hotel block.