(Featured in photo above, left to right: Wellington Webb, Crystal Swann, Kelly Arena, Fredericka McGee, Mayor Acquanetta Warren, Councilman Michael Tahan, Councilman Jesse Sandoval, School Board Member Mary Sandoval and Healthy Fontana Student, Briana Biswas pictured in the center)
Fontana, California – Representatives of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the American Beverage Association (ABA) presented the City of Fontana “Healthy Kids for a Healthy Fontana”program with a $120,000 Child Obesity Prevention Grant Award to help fight childhood obesity during a press conference at Hemlock Elementary School on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. Fontana won the 2016 Childhood Obesity Prevention Award in the medium sized cities category (population between 75-thousand and 250-thousand) and was the only city in California to be recognized.
Fontana kids performing their celebration dance.
The $120,000 grant award will expand the activities provided by the Healthy Kids for a Healthy Fontana program to include the creation of an Iron Chef, family-friendly cooking competition, bi-monthly Walks with the Mayor, as well as the debut of the Healthy Fontana on Wheels physical fitness van. The vehicle will bring physical fitness into communities where kids can participate in activities such as yoga, boxing, fitness based video games and obstacle courses. “The City of Fontana is committed to building a fit and happy community, ” said Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren, “We are making strides in the fight against obesity.”
The Healthy Kids for Fontana program aims to directly benefit the 4,100 elementary and middle school children currently attending the City’s after-school programs, by increasing the likelihood that families will purchase and eat fresh fruits and vegetables and provide more opportunities for physical activity. Key program elements include “Healthy Iron Chef Fontana,” competitions where students will compete in healthy cooking competitions preparing food from local farmers’ markets, reaching an estimated 3,000 families; “Healthy Fontana on Wheels,” a branded cargo van that will give children an opportunity to use unique and one-of-a-kind fitness equipment, and expose children to the concept that physical activity can be exciting; and “Mayor Warren Walks the Talk,” where Mayor Acquanetta Warren will expand her current “Walk with the Mayor” program by making bi-monthly visits to after-school program sites, participating in walk-and-talk sessions with the children and encouraging them and their families to increase their exercise regimen and eat more healthy fruits and vegetables.
The grant program is the result of a partnership between the USCM and the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America (ABHFA), to support and/or enhance mayors’ ongoing childhood obesity prevention programs in cities. The grant awards are divided into small, medium and large city categories, with first place and second play awards given in each category. An independent panel of judges evaluated each application based on innovation, creativity, replicability and potential impact.
You can learn more about the United States Conference of Mayors / American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America (ABHFA) Childhood Obesity Prevention Grants Program online at www.usmayors.org/childhoodobesity.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,200 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Find us online at www.usmayors.org, on facebook.com/usmayors or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.
The American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America (ABHFA) seeks to make a significant contribution to the health of local communities, by providing grants to support charitable programs at community organizations that work to advance both the physical health of their local citizens and the environmental health of their communities. For more information on ABHFA, please visit the foundation’s website at www.beveragefoundation.org.