Deadline nears for St. Pete food access grants

St. Petersburg residents interested in launching mobile fresh produce businesses through a city grant program have less than two weeks left to apply, with applications closing May 31.

The initiative, officially called the PeliCAN Grant Program, or Community Access to Nutrition, is designed to improve healthy food access in underserved neighborhoods while creating local entrepreneurship opportunities.

Administered through Healthy St. Pete, a division of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, the program provides funding, training and mentorship to selected residents interested in operating mobile produce markets in areas identified as Healthy Food Priority Areas.

“When the Healthy Food Action Plan was completed in 2024, residents in the Healthy Food Priority Areas directly stated they would like to see more neighborhood produce stands and markets,” said Samantha Bequer, the city’s communications director.

Officials say residents often face barriers that go beyond simply having a grocery store nearby. “While people can access food, it often costs more, whether through higher prices at nearby grocery stores or the added expense of rideshares, carpools, or other transportation to reach stores with better quality, prices, and selection,” Bequer said.

She added that long bus rides, extreme heat, limited time off work and transportation coordination can make regularly buying fresh food difficult for many residents.

“The obstacles include coordinating transportation during limited time off work, waiting on varying bus schedules, walking long distances in extreme heat, or rushing trips that can make it difficult to shop the fresh and refrigerated sections,” she said.

The city identified 17 Healthy Food Priority Areas across St. Petersburg, with officials saying each neighborhood faces different transportation and affordability challenges. City leaders believe mobile produce businesses offer flexibility that traditional grocery models often cannot.

“Having four vendors work together has helped create a flexible network of fresh produce access points that will be better able to adapt and efficiently respond to the communities’ needs and requests,” Bequer said. “This has proven to be the most effective approach.”

Selected participants will receive startup support to create what the city calls Fresh Start Mobile Markets. The mobile businesses are intended to bring affordable fruits and vegetables directly into underserved neighborhoods while expanding SNAP access points.

The city says participants will also receive technical assistance, mentorship and business development support over a 15 month period. “This is a services based grant designed to support recipients through every step of launching a mobile produce business,” Bequer said. “We also plan to help recipients graduate from the program with transferrable skills and certifications.”

Partner organizations supporting the program include Florida Central Credit Union, which will provide banking and financial literacy services, and the St. Petersburg Greenhouse, which will offer business mentorship and planning assistance. The city also plans to partner with local commissary facilities to provide cold storage and vendor trailer parking.

Officials say the program is intended to improve both neighborhood health outcomes and local economic opportunity.

“When local residents own and run these food businesses, more money stays in the neighborhood and helps create economic opportunities for the owners,” Bequer said. “Local owners are also more likely to listen to their community and stock the foods people actually want to buy.”

The initiative aligns with Mayor Ken Welch’s Neighborhood Health and Safety Pillar of Progress and is funded through a partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg and Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, under the Healthy People 2025 collaborative grant program.