Santa Clara County Coalition Launching “Soda Free Summer” Campaign

San Jose, CA, June 4, 2008 Does curiosity ever strike as you sit there drinking that 20-ounce soda—I wonder how much sugar is in this one bottle? What about those “healthy” snack bars—ever think twice about how much sugar lies beneath those claims to lower cholesterol or blood pressure? Thanks to a new campaign launched today you might have the answers to your most pondering questions. The Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC), a collection of health and nutrition professionals, is promoting “Soda Free Summer” to help residents sample a summer without sweetened beverages.

              The Soda Free Summer campaign is being coordinated by all six Bay Area counties, including Santa Clara. In Santa Clara County the campaign is being coordinated by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department with support from the obesity-prevention collaborative, Healthy Silicon Valley. The campaign is a response to the unprecedented obesity crisis, which affects more than half of all adults and nearly a quarter of all children. “We are asking people to rethink their drink this summer,” says Dr. Amor Santiago, Chair of BANPAC and Director of Healthy Silicon Valley. “Soda provides the greatest source of added sweeteners in the diet. If residents knew there soda contained 17 teaspoons of sugar they might think twice before drinking it, and hopefully choose a healthier alternative, such as water or unsweetened ice tea,” adds Santiago.

Combined with the launch of the Soda Free Summer campaign, Healthy Silicon Valley will also be announcing the start of their annual communications strategy. Drawing strength and leadership from over 100 collaborative members, the communications strategy will be built on nine themes from the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Fit for Learning curriculum. An additional three themes will be added to the summer to provide a year-round message of nutrition and physical activity encouragement and support. “The creation of the communications strategy is only possible through the leadership and support of our 100 organization base,” adds Dr. Amor Santiago, Director of Healthy Silicon Valley.

The 12 monthly themes, listed below, will lend way for support and promotion of lead organization’s services and activities. Each month carries a new theme, ideas that will keep the strategy energized and fresh throughout the year. Below is a list of each month and its respective theme—

January- Healthy Choices
February- Heart-Healthy Body
March- Fuel Your Body
April- Consumer Beware
May- Ready, Set, Go!
June- Rethink Your Drink!
July- Play It Safe!
August- Me, We, and the Big E!
September- Fruits and Veggies Matter
October- Let’s Move!
November- MyPyramid.Gov
December- Celebrate

The June 4 event will also recognize youth from the Youth Health Advocates (YHA) project. As part of the Healthy Silicon Valley collaborative, YHA has become a vital first line of defense against the obesity epidemic. Utilizing youth and their digital media skills, the YHA creates public service announcements with health-focused messaging around the encouragement and promotion of nutrition and physical activity activities. “The YHA project engages youth at the earliest of ages and mobilizes them to become informed, live healthier lifestyles, and teach others to do the same,” says Dr. Catherine Albin, Head of Pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente.

For more information about Soda Free Summer visit www.sodafreesummer.org. For more information about Healthy Silicon Valley, please contact Travis Smith at (408) 879-4105 or by e-mail at traviss@healthtrust.org.

Contact:           
Travis Smith
Healthy Silicon Valley
(408) 879-4105
Traviss@healthtrust.org