This series explores the Urban Health Agenda, a vision put forth by BCHC for centering health and equity in city policymaking. The series will introduce the vision and highlight leaders from several big city health departments who are making this vision come to life.

This second episode features a discussion with Charlene McGee and Mikayla Hill from the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program at the Multnomah County Health Department (which serves Portland, OR, and the surrounding area).

McGee and Hill discussed the health department’s collaboration with Black farmers to address nutrition-related disease prevention, while improving food access and affordability. They shared how this partnership came about, how they approach the farms as true partners in the process, challenges they have faced together along the way, and advice for public health departments who want to collaborate more effectively with community-based organizations.

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