About Us

OUR OPPORTUNITY

At the core of well-being lies a foundation laid long before illness strikes. It begins within the fabric of our families, schools, workplaces, places of worship, and neighborhoods. Everyone in our community should have the opportunity to make choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, irrespective of financial status, educational attainment, or cultural heritage. Through collaborative efforts, let us elevate health as a shared priority and cultivate a culture of health in our city.

OUR SOLUTION

By fostering collaboration, we can drive meaningful shifts in health conditions and outcomes. As servant leaders, we are committed to convening key stakeholders to drive health advancement in our city. Through our initiative, Healthy St. Pete, we will enact systemic reforms, enhance community resilience through education and collaboration, and spearhead innovative initiatives, policies, and programs aimed at elevating the health and overall well-being of St. Petersburg.

OUR IMPACT – 2023

Innovative

Healthy St. Pete remains at the forefront of pioneering programs, fostering collaboration, and facilitating resource accessibility. Through partnerships with 58 community events, we are actively cultivating a health-conscious culture across the city. These collaborations not only prioritize health as a collective value but also pave the way for impactful initiatives, offering opportunities for fitness and promoting healthy habits. As a result, 12,800 residents of all ages have actively participated, contributing to our shared goal of a healthier community.

Areas of Focus

Healthy Physical Activity: Get Fit St. Pete program offered monthly fitness classes led by community volunteer trainers resulted in 129 free community fitness classes and 2,627 participants.

Healthy Aging: In partnership with AARP and Fit Lot, Healthy St. Pete offered 54 free community fitness classes taught by certified trainers.

Healthy Minds: Engaged 5,430 children in the community. In partnership with Aetna, Healthy St. Pete created the Mind Power Program, a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for youth and teens in the before school childcare program. The program engaged 652 participants who practiced 150 hours of yoga and completed 2,798 mindful minutes practiced through a mindfulness-based app.

Healthy Eating & Nutrition: The Parks and Recreation Department, through grants received from the US Department of Agriculture through the state of Florida, served 183,041 after school snacks, and through the Summer Food Service Program served 38,974 summer breakfasts, and 52,596 summer lunches to children ages 18 or under in 2023. In addition to coordinating the Summer Food Service Program, Healthy St. Pete operated a meal distribution site at Dell Holmes Park and distributed 663 free meals to youth in the community.

Health Education: 1,349 participants took an evidenced-based nutrition, financial wellness, mental health, or disease prevention class.

Employee Wellness: Provided 212 health and wellness classes for city employees with 3,290 employees taking participating. Offered 12 onsite vaccination and preventative screening events and launched a Wellness Warrior program to build a shared value for health within our employee teams.

Intentional

The City of St. Petersburg continues to intentionally incorporate health and equity considerations into program, policies, plans, and project.

Healthy St. Pete continues to maintain the Health Equity resource page that outlines city driven projects, policies, programs, and plans that offer information on the ways city departments are working to improve health outcomes for all residents of St. Petersburg. To further the city’s work surrounding food access and security Healthy St. Pete published a detailed Healthy Retailer Map that illustrates programs and links it to health risk information using other dashboard connections. Healthy St. Pete launched a new project 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. Healthy St. Pete supports the work of the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, FRESH Pace Healthy Neighborhood Store Program which helps set the pace for good health throughout the city by providing healthy food options to families living in areas with limited access to nutritious foods. The Healthy Food Action Plan and Fresh Pace Program are funded by the federal allocation of funds to the City through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).