Working to increase the economic vitality of our local communities and region | UC Davis Health

The Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has aligned with the following high profile initiatives that are working toward increase the economic vitality of our local communities and region. Health systems nationwide spend $342 billion on goods and services annually, but less than 2 percent of that is directed at locally, minority, or women-owned businesses. Shifting this spend is a powerful way we can improve community health by addressing racial and economic inequities.

Connecting Existing Local and Diverse Vendors to Contracting Opportunities

• 2025 Small and Diverse Supplier Expo, May 22nd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register today!
• Searching for Small and Diverse Businesses (e-learning course).
• Encourage small and diverse businesses to register with UC Davis. 
• University of California Systemwide Small Business First program (SBF).
• Refer to the Small and Diverse Chambers of Commerce when searching for a supplier:
  • Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce - Membership Directory
  • Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce - Member Directory
  • Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - Member Directory
  • Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce - Member Directory
  • Davis Chamber of Commerce - Business Directory
  • Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce - Member Directory

Building Capacity

Building up the ability of the local business community to meet supply chain needs:

• Grow supplier diversity outreach and programs – Virtual Diverse Vendor Fair.
• Build capacity and knowledge of local business community.
• Strengthen relationship with local chambers of commerce.
• UC Small and Diverse Business Advisory Council.

UC Davis Health Farm to Fork Hospital procurement program has invested nearly $1 million in regional food procurement, increasing the hospital’s proportion of food from local vendors from 16.5% in 2016 to 40% in 2019.

Aggie Square will house business partners and community-based programs with UC Davis innovation and research to create a stronger and healthier shared community. Aggie Square will create a unique live/learn/work/play environment to foster collaboration and new public spaces with welcoming, accessible entry points that connects the university with its neighboring communities.

Purchasing Locally

Our strategy aims to facilitate the purchase of more goods and services from local vendors and historically underrepresented communities. 

To meet supply chain needs, we include 10 more zip codes in our AIM communities to extend our reach to more local small businesses. Our total purchasing catchment represent 23 zip codes covering communities in the Sacramento region identified as having higher social and economic disparities than other nearby zip codes.