The Sentinel: 09/04/25

Nonprofit links Illinois farmers with health care to advance "food as medicine"

A Colona-based nonprofit helps connect food, farming and health care to advance nutrition-based medical interventions.

Image by svklimkin from Pixabay

by Judith Ruiz-Branch
Illinois News Connection

CHICAGO - An Illinois nonprofit is working to connect farmers to health care systems as part of an effort to advance a "food as medicine" model for health care.

The nonprofit coalition Think Regeneration in Colona is helping more than 100 farmers in the organization build relationships with health care institutions, including hospitals and clinics.

Ryan Slabaugh, founder and executive director of Think Regeneration, said the farmers work with doctors to prevent chronic disease and support patients through nutrition-based interventions.

"If we can take some of that money and put it back into the local communities of farming and food, we see the ripple effects happen economically," Slabaugh explained. "As well as the positive health outcomes, which are obviously the big priority."

The organization's work is based on emerging science showing connections between soil health, plant nutrition, and human health. Slabaugh pointed out improved diet and nutrition has been shown to significantly improve health conditions like type 2 diabetes.

A lot of these ecosystems have been siloed and working on their own problems.

Think Regeneration supports farmers and ranchers who avoid pesticides, herbicides and minimize synthetic fertilizers. Slabaugh noted while Indigenous communities have understood food's medicinal purposes for thousands of years, modern medicine is only recently rediscovering the connections after decades of prioritizing efficiency over health.

"I think doctors are now starting to understand that their patients are asking them, 'Well, what should I be eating?’" Slabaugh underscored "And this comes from doctors that we work with. They are totally unprepared for that question."

Slabaugh argued doctors receive minimal nutrition education with much more time dedicated to pharmacology, creating an imbalance in how they approach health care. He stressed the initiative to promote food's medicinal uses requires partnerships across many sectors, including transportation, food storage, education, philanthropy and scientific research.

"A lot of these ecosystems have been siloed and working on their own problems," Slabaugh contended. "I think this is a real attempt to kind of break down those silos and bring people back into the idea that we're all kind of participating in health, whether we're directly in health care or not."

Madigan wins back-to-back titles at Labor Day Tournament

Sohum Gurrapu and Hunter Madigan pose with doubles trophies

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Sohum Gurrapu (left) and Hunter Madigan pose with their double trophies after the Open Men's Doubles championship match.

Hunter Madigan defended his singles crown while teaming with Sohum Gurrapu for the doubles title at the Champaign Labor Day Tennis Tournament.

CHAMPAIGN - For the second straight year, Hunter Madigan left no doubt about his place at the top of the Champaign Park District Labor Day Tournament. The top-seeded Madigan claimed the men’s open singles title with a run that ended in a championship victory over 15-year-old Sohum Gurrapu, a sophomore at Champaign Central, in his first appearance in the open division title match.

It took Madigan, a senior at St. Thomas More High School, three sets to defeat Gurrapu 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(5).

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

David Molitor poses for a photo with his sons after winning the Beginner/Intermediate Open Singles divison. Molitor defeated Jay Rafi 6-1, 6-0 in the title match on Monday. See the list of this year's champions at the bottom of this article.

Madigan, who also qualified for the IHSA Tennis State Finals in May, dominated early-round matches. He opened with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Binghong Chen, then rolled past Joe Settelmyer 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. After edging David Diep in a tiebreak, Madigan stopped Daniel Canivez in a 6-0, 7-5 semifinal before earning his second consecutive title.

Gurrapu, meanwhile, made his way to the final with a breakout performance. He began with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Lang Liu before defeating former Champaign Centennial standout Daniel O’Brien, 6-3, 6-2. In the semifinal, Gurrapu held off Alejandro Gomez, a high school state finalist, in a tightly contested 7-5, 6-4 match to secure his spot opposite Madigan.

In the singles final, Madigan’s experience and steady play proved decisive against Gurrapu, who nonetheless established himself as a rising talent in the area’s tennis scene.

"Playing against him in singles is tough," Gurrapu said. "It went pretty well the first set. I was hitting pretty well, hitting some winners."

He pointed out that the second set was different story.

"In the second set, Hunter picked up his level and I think I kind of lowered mine," he said recapping the title match drama. "It was still a good tournament overall."

The tournament concluded with the men’s open doubles championship, where Madigan and Gurrapu joined forces. Facing veteran duo Sam Ryu and Lino Jo, the high school players showed poise in a straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-4, completing a memorable tournament sweep.

Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

LEFT: Hunter Madigan lines up a big forehand shot during the Men's Open doubles match with Sohum Gurrapu. MIDDLE: Sohum Gurrapu slices back a serve from Sam Ryu during the Labor Day Tournament's title match on Monday. RIGHT:Ari Velasquez is all smiles with his first-place tournament trophy and swag bag. Velasquez won the Boy's 12-and-under title on Monday.

Madigan said Gurrapu is a fun partner to play with. After all, the pair have shared a friendship tempered by more than a half of decade of competition.

"The way he plays just works really with me."

Gurrapu sang praises for his partner.

"His serves are amazing. I mean his kick serve just make it too easy for me at the net," he said. "Playing singles against him is tough. I hate playing against it (the kick serve). In doubles, it's just amazing, especially when he is your partner."

Complete Champaign Park District Labor Day Tournament championship results:

Men’s Open Singles:
Main Draw Final: Hunter Madigan defeated Sohum Gurrapu 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(5)
Consolation Final: David Diep defeated Yannick Kluch 6-0, 6-1

Beginner/Intermediate Open Singles:
Main Draw Final: David Molitor defeated Jay Rafi 6-1, 6-0
Consolation Final: Christine Powell defeated Can Huang by default

Men’s 35 Singles Round Robin:
Deciding match for 1st & 2nd place: Michael Bantz defeated Charles Sikora 6-4, 7-5

Men’s 45 Singles:
Main Draw Final: Nitin Bhosale defeated Daniel Morris 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(4)
Consolation Final: Alex Ramos defeated Eduard Kirr 6-4, 6-0

Men’s 65 Singles Round Robin:
Deciding match for 1st & 2nd place: Steve Fentem defeated Scott Aikman 6-2, 7-5

Boy’s 12 Singles:
Main Draw Final: Ari Velasquez defeated Yususf Malik 3-0 retired
Consolation Final: William Guo defeated Edward Dyer 6-0, 6-0

Men’s Open Doubles:
Main Draw Final:
Hunter Madigan & Sohum Gurrapu defeated Sam Ryu & Lino Jo 6-4, 6-4
Consolation Final:
Eduard Kirr & Christopher Stewart defeated Elijah Walker & Tuong Dang by default

Mixed Open Doubles:
Main Draw Final::
M.K. Kim & Angad Mehta defeated Kyo Nakanishi & Paul Cheung 4-6, 6-2, 1-0(3)
Consolation Final:
Kym Man & Kevin Kim defeated Can Huang & Lang Liu 6-0, 6-1