(March 23, 2026 | Urbana, Illinois) – OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart Medical Center in Urbana has put a recent focus on food insecurity in the patients it serves. Food insecurity has been an area of study for social service groups in Champaign County for several years, and a recent patient survey at OSF found more than 80% of food insecure patients were on fixed incomes.
On March 26, OSF will take part in Healthy Champaign County’s annual food summit to highlight its efforts to combat food insecurity, including:
- More than 500 easy-to-make “Smart Meals” distributed to community members in the 2025 OSF fiscal year
- Twelve cooking demonstrations to teach local seniors about eating healthy on a budget
- Volunteering at the Eastern Illinois Foodbank
- Integrating more resource sharing, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women Infants and Children (WIC), into patient visits
The food summit will also connect attendees with health care resources and provide networking opportunities. Julie Pryde, the recently retired Champaign-Urbana public health administrator, will be the keynote speaker.
“Even before the pandemic, food insecurity in Champaign County was identified as an area of need through the annual community health needs assessment,” said Camille Birt, program manager for community health at OSF Sacred Heart and Healthy Champaign County board president. “The annual food summit is a great way to bring stakeholders together and evaluate where things stand. We had around 130 attendees last year and are hoping to serve many more this year.”
Media are invited to the food summit and should RSVP to Tim Ditman with their needs.
WHO: Healthy Champaign County, OSF HealthCare, other community groups
WHAT: 2026 food summit
WHERE: Illinois Conference Center // 111 St. Mary’s Road, Champaign
WHEN: Thursday, March 26 // 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
VISUALS/INTERVIEWS: speeches, resource fair tables, OSF representatives
OTHER LOGISTICS: free parking on-site
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OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system founded by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis and headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. The system includes 18 inpatient facilities encompassing 16 licensed hospitals, two of which operate dual campuses in separate communities. Among these hospitals, 10 are acute care facilities, five are critical access hospitals and one is a continuing care facility. OSF has 2,141 licensed beds throughout Illinois and Michigan and employs more than 27,000 Mission Partners across 170+ locations. These include OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, the third largest pediatric hospital in the state, and OSF OnCall, its digital health operating entity that offers hospital-at-home care. In addition, OSF operates two colleges of nursing; OSF Home Care Services, an extensive network of home health and hospice services; Pointcore, Inc., which is composed of health care-related businesses; and OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the organization. Advances in health care transformation take place through OSF Innovation as well as OSF Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health care innovation startups. OSF HealthCare has been recognized by Fortune as one of the most innovative companies in the country and by Forbes as one of America’s Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals. Learn more at osfhealthcare.org.