REACH News
Sara Elnakib, PhD, MPH, RDN, of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, co-author of NJ Roadmap for Food System Resilience, and New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative Network Facilitation Team Member, partnered with the NJFDC to apply for a REACH grant to address this need. They set out to co-develop a solution that would improve access to critical food system data by building a tool that reflects real-world needs—focusing on the data points most relevant to day-to-day operations, resource allocation, and data-driven decision-making.
“What we knew when we started this work with REACH,” said Dr. Bagchi, associate professor of professional practice, Rutgers Business School, “is that there’s an overwhelming need for mental health services, but that barriers exist to accessing care, which can be particularly strong in underserved communities where social determinants of health are also a factor.”
Colleagues and friends from Rutgers and the community gathered in Newark in the late afternoon of December 15, 2025 to bid a fond, if reluctant, farewell to Dr. Denise Rodgers, Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Programs at Rutgers Health, professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), and principal investigator at Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health (REACH).
We are pleased to welcome Rafael E. Pérez‑Figueroa, MD, MPH, as the new Principal Investigator of REACH. Dr. Pérez‑Figueroa brings extensive expertise in community‑engaged public health research and practice, focusing on the mechanisms that drive health inequities in under-resourced communities and the implementation of public health interventions to address those health inequities. He currently serves as Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Population Health, and Global Public Health and as Associate Professor in the Department of Urban‑Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health.
As part of a four-month experiment in Newark, mothers of preschoolers were given cameras to snap pictures of food that is readily available at supermarkets and restaurants in their community. Of the 814 photographs submitted, the vast majority showed how prevalent ultra-processed foods are on the shelves of stores and menus of restaurant chains.
Rutgers faculty, students and staff are taking measurable actions to address social, economic and racial inequities by partnering with local organizations that work with marginalized populations.
Denise Rodgers, vice chancellor for interprofessional programs at Rutgers, heads the Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health (REACH), a $10 million initiative to address social determinants of health in three New Jersey cities: Camden, Newark and New Brunswick. REACH’s goal is to focus Rutgers’ resources in addressing nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, including schooling, employment and food security.