Montclair Earns Nod As ‘Healthy Town’ Amid Pandemic

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair recently earned a nod as a “healthy town” by the Mayors Wellness Campaign, the third straight year it has achieved the honor.

For the 2020 Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) “New Jersey Healthy Town” contest, the winners were recognized for coming up with “innovative responses” to address local needs created by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Montclair is one of eight communities participating in the MWC to be named a 2020 Healthy Town. According to municipal officials, some local reasons for the award included:

• Increased access to remote programming for older adults
• Food distribution for residents over 60 so that they were able to stay safely in their homes
• Montclair's Community Farms Coalition, which helped to keep residents active and address food insecurity

“Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is always important, but now especially it’s critical that our community members have access to healthful foods, nutrition information, and a variety of options for sports and other exercise activities,” Mayor Sean Spiller said.

“There have been challenges along the way, but the township, with the help of our community partners, has been able to offer a variety of activities for people of all ages, both in the physical and virtual spheres,” Spiller said.

Other municipalities to receive the MWC New Jersey Healthy Town designation included:

• Asbury Park
• Evesham Township
• Paterson
• Plainfield
• Scotch Plains
• Wildwood Crest

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