Healthy Fontana is a community-based and award-winning program that promotes a healthy lifestyle with an emphasis on four core components: nutrition, active living, smart growth and community partnerships. Our goal is to create greater awareness of health in our community and inspire people to make impactful changes to their lifestyle that help us all live longer and healthier lives.
Since its inception in 2004 by City Councilwoman Acquanetta Warren, Healthy Fontana has been providing a wide variety of educational programs, resources and events, including an annual Let’s Move on the Trail event, Fontana Walks!, after-school activities, summer programs, Healthy Jr. Chef cooking classes, “For the Health of It” newsletter, and even a cooking show called “Eat Healthy, Fontana!”
Healthy Fontana has received numerous awards for its many accomplishments, including the 2008 Cities, Counties, and Schools Merit Award, 2014 Let’s Move! Cities, Towns, and Counties Initiative Award, and the 2017 Champion of the Community Award for the Let’s Move on the Trail event. We were recently honored with the prestigious Helen Putnam Award of Excellence by the League of California Cities, accepted by founder Acquanetta Warren.
Healthy Fontana promotes practicing proper nutrition for overall health. Our educational programs teach people to examine their diet and evaluate their nutritional goals. We encourage healthy eating habits with an emphasis on consuming more fruits and vegetables. Programs include after-school physical activity and nutrition outreach to 37 Fontana elementary and middle schools, Healthy Jr. Chef cooking classes, and "Eat Healthy, Fontana!," a cooking show that teaches viewers how to prepare healthy and delicious recipes.
With a history of over 100 years, the City of Fontana is always looking to a brighter, healthier future. It is committed to “smart” growth and development of the community with an emphasis on environmental awareness. As a city-sponsored program, Healthy Fontana supports various city development strategies such as those following a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach, promoting healthier transportation such as the Active Transportation Plan, and practicing resource conservation and efficiency. Through a HiAP approach, we evaluate the health consequence of any of our events and programs and how they would help us achieve health goals through better access to physical activity, healthy food, and medical care.
With funding from the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, Healthy Fontana works with a variety of local retailers and vendors to create more opportunities for healthy eating and to make healthy retailers more accessible, such as Mobile Fresh. Other “smart” growth initiatives include striving to create more bicycle lanes and better sidewalks for walking, expand Safe Routes to School networks, and create more parks and increase their amenities. The city’s Pacific Electric Trail and San Sevaine Bicycle Trails are just a few ways Healthy Fontana promotes Smart Growth.
Healthy Fontana’s resounding success is thanks to the support and collaboration from and with many various community partners. Partnerships with community-based and non-profit organizations, medical centers, elected officials, small businesses, community members and more, has allowed Healthy Fontana to expand its outreach to the community in impactful ways. In fact, Fontana has experienced a 46% reduction in hospitalization rates for obesity-related diseases and a 47% reduction in obesity rates since 2008-2012.
Another key component of living a healthy lifestyle is physical activity. Healthy Fontana is a proud advocate of active living through programs such as Fontana Walks!, Let’s Move on the Trail, our partnership with the Fontana Expanded Learning Program, and community events. The City of Fontana also supports active living through a number of community parks, pools, sports fields, outdoor and indoor fitness gyms, and more. The community can also participate in our over 300 recreational classes offered through the City of Fontana in areas such as sports, fitness, dance, and nutrition.
Does your little one have a knack for helping out in the kitchen, enjoy watching cooking shows like Master Chef Junior, or just love food? Your child will love our fun and interactive Healthy Jr. Chef cooking class that gives them hands-on experience in cooking and preparing healthy and delicious dishes and snacks they can share with the whole family and recreate in their own kitchens. In addition, they will also learn about nutrition, safe food handling practices, sanitation, and proper utensil use.
Registration is open for children between the ages of 8-14, and parental supervision is mandatory. Be sure to sign up early, because space is limited and classes fill up very quickly! Each class includes a $5 fee and may incur an additional $3 administration transaction fee.
Location:
Shady Trails Parkhouse
15800 S Park Ln
Fontana, CA 92336
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Register at any City of Fontana Community Center or online today!
If you love cooking and want to make an effort to make more nutritious dishes, but aren’t sure how, “Eat Healthy, Fontana!” is for you! For over 10 years, Chef Saundra Garcia has been teaching the Fontana community how to prepare dishes that look good, taste good, and, most importantly, make you feel good. A graduate of California school of Culinary arts, Saundra’s love for cooking began at an early age when she would observe her aunts, grandmothers, and elders in the kitchen. They taught her how to think about healthy living through the foods we consume. In the show, Saundra teaches viewers how to create healthful recipes the whole family will love that you can prepare within 30 minutes or less, and also shares her tips on how to live a healthier lifestyle. The show was created so that people who couldn’t make it to an actual class or cooking demonstration could enjoy watching from the comfort of their living rooms.
Some of Saundra’s past recipes include portabella quinoa lentil burgers, vegetable omelets, Greek yogurt parfaits, light mushroom chicken with roasted parsnip puree, and many more! When she’s not cooking on “Eat Healthy, Fontana!”, Saundra keeps busy cooking for her husband and two children. “I’m really passionate about teaching people to cook healthy,” Saundra says, “but also in a really delicious and approachable way.” She believes you can have the best of both worlds when it comes to cooking: “I think there’s a big misconception that if something doesn’t have meat in it or if it’s not fried....then it’s not gonna taste great. It’s really the opposite of that.”
Of Healthy Fontana, Chef Saundra has this to say: “I think it’s an amazing program teaching people how to eat healthy, and I think it’s really promoted a health wave through the city of Fontana.”
Interested in cooking along with Saundra? Roll up your sleeves, tie your chef’s apron, and tune in to KFON-TV every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00am to see what healthy and delicious dish Chef Saundra will be cooking up next! If you miss a show or would like to rewatch any episode, check out any of the videos on the “Eat Healthy, Fontana!” YouTube channel. Don’t forget to check out our special “Behind the Lens” episode with an in-depth look at what happens behind the scenes.
Healthy Fontana empowers the youth of Fontana to make better decisions for their health. A partnership with the Fontana Expanded Learning Program brings an hour of nutrition education to over 30 elementary, middle, and non-funded school sites. Each site receives a fun, educational, and interactive lesson including:
Physical activity
Nutrition education
Healthy food sample
By getting up and being active, students work toward their goal of 60 minutes of physical activity per day and help decrease their risk of heart disease and obesity. Nutrition education teaches them the importance of adding more fruits and vegetables to their diets, and no lesson would be complete without a tasty and healthy snack that introduces them to new ingredients and flavors. Past recipes include veggie pizzas, berry smoothies, chia pudding, hummus, and more.
This year students have been learning about gardening, the power of mindfulness, and cooking with spices.
For more information about our programs and events, contact us at (909) 350-6542 or by email.
This year students have been learning about gardening, the power of mindfulness, and cooking with spices.