FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2018
Media Contacts:
Britt Ehrhardt, Public Health Communications Officer
County of Santa Clara Public Health Department
408-792-5155, [email protected]
Brittany Satkoski, Communications Director
FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
408-260-3753, [email protected]
WHAT:
The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department and FIRST 5 Santa Clara County host a celebration and press event for the Cut The Sugar campaign, a locally developed campaign to encourage residents to drink water or milk, instead of sugary drinks that are uniquely harmful to health. Children and their families will gather for fun activities that educate about healthy choices.
The campaign is running in English and Spanish until October. Advertising extends throughout the county, prioritizing San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
As the single largest source of added sugars in the American diet, sugary drinks are a major contributor to numerous preventable diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. In Santa Clara County, a third of middle and high school students are overweight or obese, and Latinx teenagers are twice as likely as white teenagers to be obese. Despite growing awareness that sugary drinks provide no nutritional benefit, in Santa Clara County roughly 15 percent of children ages 2 to 11, and nearly two-thirds of adolescents, report consuming at least one sugary drink daily.
Learn more at CutTheSugar.org and in Spanish ReducirElAzucar.org.
WHO:
County Supervisor Ken Yeager (District 4), Chair, FIRST 5 Santa Clara County Commission
County Supervisor Dave Cortese (District 3)
Dr. Sara Cody, Director of the Public Health Department and County Health Officer
Presenters will be available for interviews during the event.
WHEN:
Thursday, September 13, 2018
1:00–1:20 p.m. Speakers
1:20–2:30 p.m. Celebration, primarily in Spanish
WHERE:
Cesar Chavez Family Resource Center
Cesar Chavez Elementary School
2000 Kammerer Ave., Room 20
San Jose, CA 95116
VISUALS:
Press kits featuring campaign images, Sugar Savvy activity with young children and families, Potter the Otter mascot, and inflatable sugary drink bottles with campaign messages
Journalists who will attend are requested to RSVP.
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