Governance and Operations

Food insecurity is a critical issue in the communities we serve. While we work at the most basic level to provide healthy foods to those in need and to ensure our local food pantries are stocked, we realize much more needs to be done to make a lasting impact. Through our partnerships with nonprofits and other health funders, we work in a more systemic way to improve access to nutritious foods for everyone, regardless of where they live or their socioeconomic status.

“At Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, we’re committed to improving lives beyond our hospital walls. We focus on all aspects of health—physical, mental, and economic. We know many families struggle with access to care, economic instability, and behavioral health issues, including disparities in maternal and infant health. By addressing these needs through our community partnerships, we aim to help families overcome barriers and achieve better health outcomes.”

“At IEHP Foundation, our work centers around health equity to ensure that our region becomes a beacon of Vibrant Health—meaning everyone has a fair chance to be as healthy as possible. We achieve Vibrant Health by addressing the social determinants of health—that 60 to 80percent of nonclinical factors that affect a person’s health. By working with our community partners to strengthen their organizational capacity and to help them identify those health equity issues they are addressing, we can ensure that more individuals in our region access the core needs such as humane housing, easily accessible nutritious food, quality health care, meaningful work, and education to live a healthy and joyful life.”

“When we asked our community what we should prioritize ahead of launching a new strategic plan, the response around mental health was overwhelming, especially for youth. This work is urgent and necessary, and the trends of the past few years are a call to all of us to listen to the young people in our lives and center their needs. I’m especially excited that we have co-created a 25-person Youth Action Council as part of our collaborative work on youth mental health in the region. We know that: ‘those closest to the problems are closest to solutions’ and the Youth Action Council is one way we are living out that value.”

“Utilizing a public health lens, we understand that data is critical to drive decisionmaking. Thus, we seek to invest in data-driven and community-informed initiatives to inform decisionmakers regarding policy and resource investment decisions to positively impact community health.”