St. Pete Launches New Grant Opportunity to Address Economic Opportunity and Healthy Food Access Issues

City of St. Petersburg Launches New Grant Opportunity to Address Economic Opportunity and Healthy Food Access Issues for Residents

~ Applications for the PeliCAN Grant Program Open May 1 ~

April 9, 2026 - The City of St. Petersburg is launching the PeliCAN (Community Access to Nutrition) Grant Program, a new funding opportunity and program designed to address economic opportunity and healthy food access issues for residents within USDA-identified Healthy Food Priority areas of St. Pete. Grant applications open on May 1 and will be available at https://www.stpete.org/PelicanGrant.

The PeliCAN Grant will offer starting capital and stipends, technical training and mentorship to individuals for the purpose of building a mobile healthy food retail establishment. Applicants should be a St. Pete resident with an interest in advocating for their community's health and food access in their neighborhood.

The PeliCAN Grant Program is administered by Healthy St. Pete, a division of the City of St. Petersburg's Parks and Recreation Department. The PeliCAN Grant program is designed to improve physical and economic access to fresh fruits and vegetables for residents in Healthy Food Priority Areas through a mobile model by increasing SNAP access points and cultivating community-based business leaders. The program aims for a systems change approach to addressing the social determinants of health that relate to healthy food access, chronic diet-related disease instances, and economic instability.

Virtual educational sessions will be held to provide more information about this funding opportunity and provide a space for applicants to ask questions. Registration is required to attend the virtual educational sessions. More information is available at https://www.stpete.org/PelicanGrant.

Virtual Educational Session Schedule

• Monday, April 13, from 12-12:30 p.m.

• Friday, April 17, from 10-10:30 a.m.

• Wednesday, April 22, from 4:30-5 p.m.

• Saturday, April 25, from 10-10:30 a.m.

Healthy St. Pete administers the grant and provides program management, but the program is supported through collaborative partnerships. Healthy St. Pete has partnered with local organizations that have committed to providing services like education, training, banking, and use of space to grant recipients. Current programmatic partners for the PeliCAN program include:

• Florida Central Credit Union - Business banking, point of sale software, and tailored financial literacy and learning opportunities

• Foodie Labs - Commercial commissary storage, food business mentoring, commercial kitchen and cold storage

• St. Petersburg Greenhouse - One-on-one mentorship, development of individual business plans, connections with business mentors, and guidance on state and local business regulations required to establish a small business

About Healthy St. Pete

Healthy St. Pete is a division of the City of St. Petersburg's Parks and Recreation Department and works to build a culture of health in St. Pete by making the healthy choice the easy choice through innovative programs and community collaboration. Healthy St. Pete 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. More information can be found at https://www.healthystpetefl.com.