We at Healthy Food America are excited to be up and running! Our new organization is helping to energize a national movement for healthier food, starting with a major campaign to reduce consumption of added sugars in food and beverage products.

We act on scientific evidence to drive change in food policy and industry practice, giving people greater control over their health and reducing diet-related illnesses, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.  We have a number of resources to support you:

Research Watch is a monthly summary of key research findings on the impacts of sugar on health, and what strategies work to reduce excessive sugar consumption. Scientific evidence on the health effects of sugar and on the effectiveness of policy and other interventions to curb consumption are coming fast and furious these days. We hope it will help you stay on top of this rapidly developing body of knowledge and inform your strategic thinking, communications and advocacy work.

Best Practices in Designing Local Taxes on Sugary Drinks is a guide to help communities design sugary drink taxes for the maximum health benefit. It identifies critical policy considerations such as legal, administrative and political factors. The guide was informed by a panel of public health, legal and advocacy professionals with expertise in various aspects of sugary drink taxes. We hope it will help answer the political and administrative questions about a sugary drink tax initiative in your community or state.

A Roadmap for Successful Sugary Drink Tax Campaigns is designed to help you and other advocates and policymakers learn how sugary drink taxes work, how to lay the groundwork with education and policy campaigns, find a political path to passage, estimate revenue and form a winning coalition. You’ll also get tips about messaging and the opposition arguments you’re likely to counter. The guide is informed by interviews with veteran campaigners including coalition leaders, political consultants, campaign managers, legal analysts, public health officials, city executives, communications experts and grassroots advocates.

Sign up and be among the first see what we’re up to.  We’ll keep you up to date with our latest news and resources. We also invite you to follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFA and on Facebook at Healthy Food America. We look forward to working with you to knock back sugar consumption to healthy levels!