How to Achieve Goal III: Spotlight on Fontana, Calif.
Get started on the enhanced Goal III: Smart Servings for Students! In response to feedback from Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC) sites, LMCTC recently expanded Goal III: Smart Servings for Students beyond school foods to the afterschool and summer meals settings. Meal programs help fight hunger and obesity by reimbursing organizations such as schools and cities/towns/counties for providing nutritious meals to children. These meal programs include the School Breakfast Program (SBP), the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), afterschool meal programs through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) or NSLP and the Summer Food Service Program.
By supporting efforts to expand access to meal programs, local elected officials can ensure that students receive at least two healthy meals every school day and during the summer months when school is not in session.
- You can achieve a Goal III bronze medal by participating in an active collaboration involving your city/town/county, schools and other partners to expand access to programs that offer healthy food before, during and after the school day, and/or over the summer months.
- To achieve a Goal III silver medal, take at least two actions to expand children’s access to programs that offer healthy food before, during and after the school day, and/or over the summer months.
- Go for a Goal III gold medal! Use at least four approaches to publicize the availability of programs that offer healthy food before, during and after the school day, and/or over the summer months to make these meals more accessible to children.
The City of Fontana, Calif., through their Healthy Fontana Program, is achieving Goal III by partnering with Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) and the Boys and Girls Club to provide children with access to healthy food and active play during the summer months. For the fifth consecutive summer, the city, FUSD and the Boys and Girls Club are providing lunch meals and snacks to members of the community ages 18 and under. This summer, the city is assisting FUSD by hosting 12 out of 20 nutrition sites. At two of the locations the city will host free summer camps.
The City of Fontana Community Services Department’s pilot program named “Let’s Move Outside” is a collaborative program with Healthy Fontana providing over 60 minutes of active play at two city park locations. This program is designed to increase youth participation in the Summer Food Program and focuses on the time between lunch and snack to encourage being physically active and having a well-balanced diet. In the first full week of operation, over 200 kids have participated!
Healthy Fontana is also offering education to parents during the Summer Food program at all 12 locations the city is hosting. This program is designed to offer nutrition education and physical activity to both parents and students. Topics to be covered include educating on MyPlate, increasing fruit and vegetable intake, and how to be active and have fun as a family. In the first week of this eight week program, over 150 parents and children participated.
To promote the Summer Food Program, the City of Fontana developed marketing materials and publicized the program through print materials and digital channels such as flyers, the City of Fontana’s website and Facebook pages. The print materials were distributed and posted at all FUSD schools and at city facilities. Through increased marketing and the new implemented programs, the City of Fontana and FUSD anticipates a 15% increase in both participation and meals served at the Summer Food Program.
“I am grateful to be mayor of a city that understands the need for strong partnerships between the school districts and the many organizations that work with youth. These organizations work collaboratively with a common goal to eliminate childhood obesity and that affords many occasions to surround young people with the knowledge and programming to make them successful. Our partners recognize the need to invest in our young people by providing the opportunities they need to be healthy, strong, and energetic,” said Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren.
Healthy Fontana will continue to work with school districts to reduce childhood obesity.