In the absence of comprehensive economic and antihunger policies, emergency food systems and healthcare organizations have organized to meet increasing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this webinar, we heard from two collaboratives about their strategies to address acute food insecurity in urban environments. We heard how their strategies were tailored to their specific populations and what lessons they’ve learned that can be applied to other organizations and cross-sector initiatives.

Cross-sector collaborative: Matthew Broad from the Trenton Health Team (THT), a non-profit public health collaborative, and Pamela Sims Jones from Mercer Street Friends, a local food bank, shared how they collaborated with a network of 50+ organizations to respond to specific food access needs during the pandemic in Trenton, NJ.

Health system-based collaborative: Heidi Davis from Providence Health & Services and Emily Motter from Ride Connection, a non-profit providing transportation support services, discussed their partnership and how integrated food and healthcare services in a hospital-based environment revealed opportunities to eliminate stigma and barriers associated with seeking food and education in Portland, OR.

This webinar was one of a three-part webinar series featuring grantees of the Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care, a five-year initiative supported by the Merck Foundation that aims to improve access to high-quality diabetes care and reduce health disparities for vulnerable populations with diabetes. Although the initiative focuses on people living with diabetes, their experiences with integrated medical and social care and cross-sector collaboration can be extended to support individuals living with a range of complex chronic health conditions and social needs.

Presenters

• Matthew Broad, MPH, Program Manager, Trenton Health Team
• Pamela Sims Jones, Program Associate, Mercer Street Friends
• Heidi Davis, MSW, Community Teaching Kitchen Manager, Providence Health & Services
• Emily Motter, Deputy Director, Ride Connection
• Katie Gunter, MPH, MSW, Deputy Director, Bridging the Gap: Reducing Disparities in Diabetes Care National Program Office, University of Chicago