Take part in SUGAR SMART September

Following SUGAR SMART Exeter's pioneering effort in 2017 to get the city's residents to take on sugar reduction challenges, we want to take SUGAR SMART September national.

If you are running a campaign, this can be a great way to gather stories and case studies from individuals, get other organisations more active in your campaign and spread the word. If you are participating as a setting or organisation, it's a wonderful way to get your staff, customers and community on board to make healthier changes and to promote the great work you are doing.

With the support of the SUGAR SMART Exeter team, and others in our network who have run similar sugar reduction challenges, we have put together some template resources, advice and ideas for you to use. They are in Word format, so you are welcome to add your local logos, contact details, and other info on how and why people should take part.

These resources are free and available to all, but we encourage you to register your activities on behalf of your organisation, workplace or setting, to make your actions count as part of the national SUGAR SMART network!

Ideas for activities:

• Get people to sign up for sugar reduction challenges. We've included 4 options of varying difficulty, plus a chance to set your own challenge.
• Set up a way for people to sign up, via SurveyMonkey for example, and a way to follow up with those that pledged to take part.
• Offer a prize giveaway to get more people involved.
• Set up a Facebook Group - or invite people to an existing group - to share their progress, challenges and recipe ideas.
• Hold a public engagement stall to promote sugar reduction messages, tips and recipes, and spread the word about your work.
• Send out a press release or newsletter highlighting the sugar reduction actions your setting is doing.

Resources available:

• SUGAR SMART September Guidance - add your organisation's details and share this how-to guidance and tips with your community.
• SUGAR SMART Challenge Diary - print these out for people to use to track their progress throughout the month.
• SUGAR SMART September logo
• SUGAR SMART September sample sign up questions - use this template for an online or paper survey to gather people's contact info and pledges.
• SUGAR SMART September sample follow up questions - use this template online or via email to gather feedback and quotes from participants.
• Sugar Basics [compiled by Kensington & Chelsea Council] - key facts, info and healthy meal and snack swap ideas.
• Case study on Bow Lane Dental's 30 day sugar reduction challenge - info on how the City of London dental practice encouraged staff and patients to cut down sugar for a month.

These resources are also available in the SUGAR SMART dashboard for both campaign leads and participating organisations.

Get social:

• Follow us on Twitter at @sugarsmartuk and use the hashtag #SugarSmartSeptember to share what you are doing, share your tips, recipes, new discoveries and challenges along your journey.
• Connect with us on Facebook to share your activities and experiences.

Good luck and don't forget to get in touch and tell us how you're getting on!

SUGAR SMART is a campaign run by the charity Sustain. SUGAR SMART is one of the featured campaigns in the UK's Sustainable Food Cities Network.