Farm to Food Bank Advisory Council Meeting
10:00 am
July 24th, 2025
Chicago Location: Videoconference Room, 401 S. Clinton St. Chicago, IL 60607
Welcome
Britney Southard brought the meeting to order at 10:06 a.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.
Roll Call
Members Present in Springfield:
- Britney Southard, Liaison, Illinois Department of Human Services, TEFAP Members Present Virtually:
- Bindi Lessing, Chair, Illinois Department of Human Services, TEFAP
- Dakarai Howard, Director of Agriculture, Illinois Department of Agriculture
- Kevin Pinson, Director of Product Sourcing, St. Louis Area Food Bank
- Bailey Parks-Moore, Food Bank Representative, Eastern Illinois Food Bank
- Piero Taico, Agriculture Industry Representative, Feeding Illinois
- Raghela Scavuzzo, Agricultural Industry Representative, Illinois Farm Bureau
- Lillian Nabwiire, Academic Institution Representative
Members Absent:
- Gretchen Nollman, Food Sourcing Manager, River Bend Food Bank
Minutes
- Approval of minutes
- Raghela Scavuzzo moved to approve minutes
- Kevin Pinson seconded the motion
- The motion to approve minutes by roll call vote
Meeting Opener
Bindi Lessing opened the meeting with roll call
Member Roll
Lessing discussed food bank representative of acquiring about distributing foods that meet the grant specifications. Lessing talked about ways the council can encourage applicants and advise on capacity building grants, what minimum percentage should we require from Illinois, and how we should validate the agreed percentage. The Councils discussion centered around the capacity building grants. Steve Ericson started with a summary of the expected funding for SFY 2026 and shared the attached spreadsheet. A consensus decision was made to try and award all of the capacity building allocation in SFY'26. Ericson (Executive Director Feeding IL) pointed out there is enough funding in Feeding Illinois' administrative allocation to contract with a Grant Manager to administer the capacity grant portion of the Program - at least for this first year of awards. Scavuzzo suggested considering two phases - one quickly to potentially help farmers this season, and a second one for larger, longer-term projects. No one seemed to agree or disagree but understood the rationale. Question was raised on what, if any, special processes must be followed under the legislation and rules combined with funding being appropriated. Ericson was encouraged to reach out to other entities that have administered capacity in the state, such as the Department of Agriculture (IDoA). Dakarai Howard agreed to introduce Ericson to "Heather" at IDoA.
Committee Reports
The council targeted on how they can encourage applicants. There are no identified concerns at this time.
Public Participation
No public participants.
Upcoming Meeting Date
Lessing confirmed the next meeting date to be set for August 28th, 2025, at 9:30a.m.
Adjourn
- Lessing ended the meeting
- Raghela Scavuzzo motioned to adjourn
- Kevin Pinson second to adjourn
- Meeting adjournment ended with roll call vote
