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St. Pete organization planning free grocery market in designated 'food desert'

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Published  December 6, 2024 5:03pm EST
St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

New food pantry launching

FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis reports on Positive Impact Ministries opening a free neighborhood market in a St. Petersburg food desert to help residents with limited access to grocery stores or fresh food.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - This holiday season, many families are facing hunger and food insecurity. One St. Petersburg organization has plans to help feed more neighbors in the new year and create a new free neighborhood market in a designated food desert. 

Positive Impact Ministries plans to open a free neighborhood market at Tangerine Plaza off of 22nd Street South. The area has been designated a food desert because of its lack of grocery stores or access to fresh food.

Cars line up for hours to pick up fresh groceries every Saturday from Positive Impact Ministries. Soon, they’ll be able to do more than drive through the parking lot.

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"Individuals and families can park their cars and walk into the market," said Karen Rae, the executive director of Positive Impact Ministries.

The neighborhood market will allow residents to choose their own fresh fruits and veggies, meats and dairy. Rae said it's also about shopping with dignity.

"They can select the foods that they want, and if they have their child with them, that child’s experience is not any different than any other child they go to school with," said Rae.

Modeled after free neighborhood markets in Columbus, Ohio, this will be a temporary space for the organization. The organization made a bid to buy Tangerine Plaza from the city, but the city selected an affordable housing project instead. 

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Rae said they’ll set up at the plaza for now as they look for a more permanent home.

"Our mission is to make sure that everyone has access to fresh food," said Rae. "This isn’t just about hunger, because there are neighbors who aren’t necessarily hungry, but they are eating gas station diets and that’s not okay, those diets lack nutritious value. It affects, especially children, their ability to concentrate in school."

Also in January, the organization will be collaborating for meals on wheels for kids, delivering nutritious meals to kids when school is out. 

The community foundation found more than 36,000 kids in Pinellas County face chronic hunger when they’re not in school.

"We want to make sure that we get to those kids especially, so they don’t go to bed hungry," said Rae.

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