About our campaign

Sugary drinks are major contributors to poor diet and rising obesity rates, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. To address beverage consumption in these communities, the Minneapolis Health Department launched ReThink Your Drink, Every Sip Counts! to encourage people and places to choose healthier beverages over sugary drinks.

The Health Department partners with community-based organizations to raise awareness about the impacts of sugary drinks and promote healthier options, and pursue policy and practice changes to increase healthier beverage availability in different community settings such as social service agencies. In addition, the Health Department continues to expand the reach and visibility of the campaign by using social media, engaging youth as change-makers, and fostering additional partnerships with organizations such as clinics

Progress & accomplishments

Collectively, the campaign has been represented at over 100 community events, 200 educational workshops and/or sessions, and 15 media opportunities (TV, radio, and written). Also, more than 40 organizations have reduced the availability of sugary drinks by adopting healthy beverage policies and practices. As the campaign garners statewide and national attention, the Health Department continues to build partnerships with additional cultural communities, other enterprises such as Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and agencies such as the American Heart Association.

The Health Department also partners with the City’s Public Works Department to promote the consumption of tap water. The partnership entails cross-promotion on the radio and tours of the water plant. The goal of the partnership is to raise awareness that Minneapolis has one of the best tap water in the nation and reduce fear around drinking tap water.

The campaign’s bottom-up approach fosters community participation and ownership from the outset. In addition, public awareness campaigns are especially effective when paired with supportive policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies. The combination of grassroots education and outreach with institutional PSE changes continues to generate tangible improvements in communities experiencing health disparities and lays the foundation for exploring broader policy changes. Given national interest in decreasing sugary drinks consumption, the unique nature of this campaign can serve as a model for other communities.