Healthy Living - Second Chance Life Skills Inc

Mission : Healthy Living

Second Chance Life Skills opened the 2016 Year full of Hope and Aspirations for Overwhelming Success of its programs, specifically its core programs and outreach. Our programs supports the Tampa Bay Market which includes the 12th and 14th Congressional District of Florida. The focus this year is a “Healthy Homes Initiative” and each annual year thereafter. The concept is to have an overall approach to providing Healthy Homes, Healthy Financials and of course Healthy Foods (Addressing Food Insecurity).

Our Organization is focused on a “Healthy Living” Initiative that focuses on the overall needs of most households, especially that of Low to Moderate Income Household Populations.

Food Insecurity is a big deal.

Not only in our community but worldwide the disadvantaged don’t have access to Healthy Food nor have any solutions provided for them. We have partnered with Panera Bread in an effort to feed the Low to Moderate Income Households that have kids and young adults as well as the low income senior citizen population. Our concept is to bring Healthy foods and alternatives to the disadvantaged communities where they will now have access to Healthy Breads, Bagels, Pastries, etc. As funding permits, we will focus on partnering with brands such as Whole Foods as well as Feed America in an effort to continue to provide Healthy Foods to the low income populations that would never have access or the finances to afford such Healthy and Nutritional Foods and Brands.

Urban Farming

We are also at work in seeking funding to acquire vacant land to plant Vegetables and Fruits to the same low to moderate income population. The effort will be a community based effort to get volunteers from the organization as well as the community to Plant, Water, Cultivate and Gather the Fruits and Vegetables and make them readily available to distribute to households in need. This project will encourage and create awareness of providing cost effective measures and metrics as well as to create resources for whole community but specifically to the low income populations. This project will take some work but we believe through creating awareness and community bonds, a great deal of households will buy into our Healthy Homes – Healthy Living Concepts.

URBAN GRANGE

During World War 2, Victory Gardens were used to harvest local fresh fruits and vegetables, with some claiming as much as 40% of the needs of the country were met by simply growing fruits and vegetables in an urban environment. Today, there is much discussion on the theme of growing locally the foods we use, in a less processed form of local farming and with a focus on organic and legacy farming methods.

To that end, Second Chance Life Skills is proud of the opportunity to host a new Urban Grange chapter for the City of St Pete and the surrounding areas. The Grange (The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry) is a long standing organization which has fought the good fight to preserve the rights of small farmers historically and is a fraternal organization which encourages families to work together for the economic and political well being of their communities and agriculture. Historically, the Grange has been a rural organization, but this Urban Chapter will hopefully open up a new front in the long glorious history of the Grange. As the host location, we will work to make the vision of urban farming and fresh produce from Farm to Table a reality for the food deserts of St Pete.

The State of Florida has unique laws which will allow the creation of Urban Farms which as have been shown in recent times, can be profitable and create good healthy wholesome produce opportunities right at the door of those who have not had decent choices for food options. In a perfect world, Second Chance Life Skills will help facilitate up to 800 urban farmettes in the front and back yards of homes and properties throughout St Pete, with an initial focus on the areas near our building.

The County Tax Assessor has rules which allow a large tax reduction by actually farming land up to ones front and back doors, by adjusting a portion of the land use assessment to a farming designation. By farming the property instead of sending off pollution through use of lawn mowers, the carbon discharge will be reduced and when proof of concept is stable, this can become a template for work across the state and around the country, further reducing the carbon footprint and pollution by sourcing foods locally.