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Funding Period:
2003–2008
The Steps Program in Pinellas County, Florida
CDC’s Steps Program funds states, cities, and tribal groups to implement
community-based chronic disease prevention programs to reduce the burden of
obesity, diabetes, and asthma by addressing three related risk factors:
physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use. Steps-funded programs
are showing what can be done locally in schools, work sites, communities,
and health care settings to promote healthier lifestyles and help people
make long-lasting and sustainable changes that can reduce their risk for
chronic diseases.
Background
The Steps Program in Florida’s Pinellas County is helping build healthier
communities in four contiguous cities in southern Pinellas County—St.
Petersburg, Gulfport, Kenneth City, and Pinellas Park—by working with schools,
health care providers, employers, and community and faith-based leaders.
Programmatic efforts are focused on populations most burdened by chronic
diseases, including racial and ethnic minority groups, people living below the
federal poverty level, the uninsured and underinsured, disabled persons, and the
elderly, with special emphasis on racial and ethnic minority and school
populations. In 2005, more than 11% of Pinellas County residents lived below the
federal poverty level (U.S. Census Bureau estimate).
Spotlight on Success
The Pinellas County Steps Program works with the area’s 58 schools to offer a
salad program with convenient prepackaged fruit and vegetable salads in school
cafeterias. The program trains school administrators about the benefits of fruit
and vegetable consumption and teaches food service staff how to prepare
nutritious salads. Almost all (84%) of the schools participate in the salad
program, and 90% of the students and staff members participate in the farmer’s
markets. As a result of the salad program, fruit and vegetable consumption has
gone up—more than 3,750 elementary school students and staff members increased
their intake of fruits and vegetables during the third year of the program. Read
this success story in The Steps Program in Action, available at
www.cdc.gov/steps/success_stories/pdf/pinellas.pdf
(PDF- 82KB).
Community Partnerships
Community partnerships are important components of the Steps Program in
Pinellas County. These partnerships consist of both traditional and
nontraditional partners, including church groups, environmental health
officials, Head Start programs, and several community-based coalitions.
These diverse organizations guide the design and implementation of
interventions in the Steps communities.
Contact
Steps to a Healthier FL–Pinellas County
Pinellas County Health Department
Telephone: 727-820-4113
www.pinellashealth.org/steps*
*Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a
service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization
by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is
not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found
at this link.
One or more documents on this Web page are available in Adobe Acrobat® Format
(PDF).
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files on this page.
Page last reviewed: May 2, 2008
Page last modified: July 31, 2008
Content source: Division of Adult and
Community Health, National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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