City of St. Petersburg Introduces Healthy Food Action Plan to Address Food Insecurity, Seeks Community Input

St. Petersburg, FL (November 8, 2023) – The City of St. Petersburg is introducing a new program called the Healthy Food Action Plan, aimed at addressing the social, environmental, economic, and physical aspects of food access and security in St. Pete through programs, projects, partnerships, and policies. The Healthy Food Action Plan project is funded by the federal allocation of funds to the City through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and will be operated by Healthy St. Pete, a division of the City’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“With Neighborhood Health and Safety as a focus area of my administration, it’s critical that every St. Pete resident has the opportunity to thrive,” said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. “We invite residents to share their ideas and their voices as we work together for a healthier and more equitable St. Pete.”

The Healthy Food Action Plan will focus specifically on 16 census tracks designated by the City as Healthy Food Priority Areas, utilizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Access Research Atlas. Each community identified has a 20% or greater prevalence of poverty and a significant or majority number of residents without access to a healthy food retailer within a half mile, considering walkability and no vehicle access. Specific concerns within each Healthy Food Priority Area include limited access to a variety of food retail options, transportation, nutrition education, and are affected by income constraints.

Starting this month, Healthy St. Pete will launch community engagement and outreach activities aimed at informing the strategies and priorities of the program:

Community Food Forums

Free to attend and open to the public

November 14, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
Childs Park Recreation Center
14301 13th Ave. S

November 15 at 3 p.m. - Virtual
Visit healthystpetefl.com for the link to join the conversation

November 28 at 9:30 a.m.
Frank Pierce Recreation Center
2000 7th St. S

December 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Enoch D. Davis Center
1111 18th Ave. S

December 13 at 6:30 p.m. - Virtual
Visit healthystpetefl.com for the link to join the conversation

January 9, 2024, at 6 p.m.
Campbell Park Recreation Center
601 14th St. S

To learn more about the Healthy Food Action Plan, contact Healthy St. Pete at 727-892-5994 or visit healthystpetefl.com.  

About the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

As of May 2021, $45 million in ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds has been budgeted to continue the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help drive an equitable recovery for residents most impacted by COVID-19.

The City of St. Petersburg has allocated $1.179 million for Food Security, including the FRESH Pace Healthy Neighborhood Store Program, developing and implementing a Healthy Food Action Plan for the city, and financial support for the Summer Food Program. In October 2023, the first FRESH Pace Healthy Neighborhood Store was opened in South St. Pete to provide healthy food options to families living in areas with limited access to nutritious foods. More about the FRESH Pace Healthy Neighborhood Store Program can be found at stpete.org/FRESHpace.

About Healthy St. Pete

Healthy St. Pete – a division of the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department created from an initiative of the City of St. Petersburg – works to build a culture of health in St. Pete by making the healthy choice the easy choice through innovative programs and community collaboration.  The division improves health outcomes, reduces health inequities, implements policies and programs and encourages the community to eat, shop, live and play healthy in a city where the sun shines on all. Visit healthystpetefl.com to learn more.

About the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department

The St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department is nationally accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies, and with 17 recreation facilities, nine swimming pools, over 150 parks and more than 70 athletic fields, the department makes it a mission to preserve and enhance the city’s parklands and recreational facilities and engage the community in leisure activities. Visit StPeteParksRec.org to learn more.