Resources

Many chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease and obesity can be alleviated by changing how we work, play and eat. If you are an individual or public health professorial looking for nutrition / physical activity resources near you. Below are some tools you can use.

COVID-19 Resources

Physical activity, food access, & tobacco-use:

Joyful Movement At Home During COVID-19

Where to Find Free Nutritious Food During COVID-19

Free Meals for Seniors During COVID-19

Help Keep our Parks and Recreation Sites Safe

Smoking AND COVID-19

Resources for families, parents & kids:

Resources for Family and Early Learning Providers During COVID-19

Health and Wellness Tips for Parents with Young Children During COVID-19

Balancing your New Responsibilities While Staying at Home

Resources and Tips for Digital Learning While Philly Schools Are Closed

Free Pregnancy, Baby and Toddler Supports During COVID-19

Health justice & medical care:

Citizenship Status and Medical Access During COVID-19

Black Men and Boys are Not Immune to COVID-19

Seeking Non COVID-19 Medical Care

For Parents

Healthy kids are better learners. Interested in making sure your child’s school is doing everything it can to maintain a healthy environment? Here are two places to start:

  • School District of Philadelphia’s Wellness Policy: Talk to your principal about whether your school has a wellness council or other structures for implementing this District-wide policy. (Not at a District school? Any school that participates in the National School Lunch Program should have a Wellness Policy.) Read even more about the Wellness Policy. 
  • The Food Trust’s HYPE Program: HYPE engages middle and high school students in making healthy changes in their schools and communities – and they’re looking to involve more schools.

Childhood obesity in Philadelphia

Raising Healthy Girls (En español)

Board of Health recommendations for beverage and screen time

After-school and summer programs

After-school programs can provide structure for kids to be active. Most after-school programs (including all that receive any City funding) limit screen time and provide physical activity for all fitness levels.

Physical activity programming for both girls and boys:

If you know of other physical activity opportunities for girls in Philadelphia, please let us know.

Find the right after-school opportunities for your children:

Summer programs

  • Free summer meals! Over 1000 Philadelphia recreation centers, churches, schools, and community organizations serve free nutritious meals and snacks to children and teens age 18 and under, as well as older students with disabilities. No ID or registration required.
  • Free swimming! Philadelphia has more outdoor public pools (74) than any other city in the country, and most offer free swimming lessons and swim team opportunities for kids and teens.
  • Fun Safe Philly Summer activities
  • Playgrounds and other Parks and Recreation facilities

Physical activity for girls

Middle school girls in Philadelphia are five times less likely than boys to get the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily. (This corresponds with national trends, which show that boys’ physical activity increases from ages 5-10, while girls’ starts decreasing at age 6.)

These local organizations specialize in physical activity programming for girls:

For Partners

Healthy kids are better learners. Interested in learning how a child’s school is can maintain a healthy environment? Here are two places to start:

  • School District of Philadelphia’s Wellness Policy: Talk to the school’s principal about whether the school has a wellness council or other structures for implementing this District-wide policy. (Not at a District school? Any school that participates in the National School Lunch Program should have a Wellness Policy.) Read even more about the Wellness Policy. 
  • Physical activity throughout the school day activate’s kid’s brains and makes them ready to learn. Check out this infographic to see how physical activity is done in Philadelphia’s schools.

Nutrition Assistance Programs

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
SNAP benefits come on an Access card, which works like a debit card. Use it to buy food at supermarkets, corner and convenience stores and most farmers’ markets. Find out if you qualify today. Call the SNAP Hotline at 215-430-0556. Click here to find a SNAP retailer near you.

WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children)
Low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, new moms, and children under age 5 can receive food, health screenings and nutrition counseling under the WIC program. Call 1-800-743-3300 to find out if you are eligible.

Summer Food Service Program
Low-income children and teens age 18 and under, as well as older students with disabilities can receive nutritious meals and snacks in summer when school is not in session. Meals and snacks are served at over 1000 Philadelphia recreation centers, churches, schools, and community organizations serve free nutritious meals and snacks.  No ID or registration required. Call 1-855-252-MEAL, text “MEAL” to 877877 to find locations near you.

Philly Food Bucks
Philly Food Bucks are coupons that help SNAP users save money on fruits and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets. For every $5 you spend, get $2 in Philly Food Bucks coupons. Call 311 or click here to find participating markets near you.

Double Dollars

Double Dollars is a double-value coupon program available at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. Double Dollars allows SNAP customers to purchase additional healthy foods at the Farmstand. When Double Dollars customers use their SNAP benefits, they receive a dollar for dollar match- up to $40 a month- in coupons to use on local fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat. Visit www.fairfoodphilly.org or call 215-386-5211 for more information.

FMNP (Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program) vouchers
FMNP vouchers for WIC recipients and qualifying seniors can be used at Philadelphia farmers’ markets. To find out more contact your local WIC office or for seniors contact the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging at 215-765-7040.

Philly Food Finder
Visit Philly Food Finder to find food resources such as pantries, soup kitchens, SHARE host sites, senior meal sites, and farmers’ markets.

Nutrition Standards Training Modules

In 2014, the City of Philadelphia issued Executive Order 4-14, establishing citywide nutrition standards (Standards) for foods and beverages purchased, prepared or served by City agencies (including contracted organizations).

The Standards were revised in 2022 to align with federal and state guidelines and reflect recommendations from Department of Public Health staff, other City departments, and community partners. Visit www.phila.gov/nutritionstandards for the updated standards.

Nutrition standards are an evidence-based strategy to ensure meals, beverages and snacks align with the latest dietary guidance. They are a model for other large institutions and employers, and send a market signal to suppliers to provide competitively priced healthy food options.  The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) has developed online training modules to offer food procurement staff (City staff who purchase food), food service managers and purchasing staff (those who develop menus, purchase, prepare and serve the food), and food vendors (those who provide/sell the food to City departments) the information needed ​to comply with Standards implementation. Select the module that best aligns with your role. 

Kitchen Managers & Purchasing Staff: https://youtu.be/BvMYcTniZjc

Food Procurement Staff: https://youtu.be/jdfR8Fc2Gis

Food Vendors: https://youtu.be/mAyFZsq-kLU

Once you finish taking the relevant module, please complete this survey at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtEYR1p6N8tgfvYnPo_SscazCHsYrad5acow_W1xSKkxfAow/viewform?usp=pp_url and PDPH will send you a certificate as training confirmation.  

For additional resources about the Nutrition Standards visit www.phila.gov/nutritionstandards

For more information, contact Jennifer Aquilante, Food Policy Coordinator:Jennifer.aquilante@phila.gov

Nutrition Education Programs in the Community

Penn State Nutrition Links
Penn State Nutrition Links offers a series of free nutrition and food preparation group classes for limited-resource audiences. To learn how to bring this program to your location, call 1-888-778-3535 or 215-471-2200, extension 2.

Eat.Right.Now. Nutrition Education Program

Other local agencies also offer nutrition education programs to schools, recreation centers, pantries and a variety of other settings with a large SNAP-eligible population. To find out if your organization qualifies for nutrition programming, contact one of the providers below.

Hydration Handouts

For hydration resources in various languages, click here.

Healthy Cooking/Recipes

General Wellness Resources

Philadelphia Board of Health Recommendations

Board of Health Recommendations for Beverage and Screen Time in Early Childhood

Childcare Providers

Parents and Caregivers

Additional Resouce Guide on how to meet the recommendations

Healthy Meetings Policy

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health uses this Healthy Meetings Policy to help guide what healthy food and beverages should be offered during meetings, parties and special events. By implementing a similar policy, you can create environments supportive of employee health and wellness during the work day.

Other resources

Media

Contact Us

Working members of the media, or community organizing groups, please use the following Get Healthy Philly media relations contact for inquiries. Journalists on deadline, are advised to contact our media relations team by email. Please put ON DEADLINE in the subject of the email, and be as specific as possible with your request.

Media Contact:
Terry Johnson: Terry.johnson@phila.gov
(O) 215-685-5263
(C) 267-210-1566