F5VC supports A LEAN VC and the Gold Coast Collaboratives' ReThink Your Drink Campaign and 8-Week Challenge to encourage Ventura County children and their families to replace soda and other sugary drinks (like juice) with healthy alternatives such as water, non-fat or low-fat milk. No child is too young to participate. And parents can use the campaign as an opportunity to model healthy beverage consumption.

Children and their families will be challenged to track their beverage consumption for eight weeks and submit their tracker for various prize drawings, including bikes and helmets.

Six out of ten adults and a quarter of the children in Ventura County are overweight or obese and at risk for diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Empty calories from sugar-sweetened beverages, like soda, are a major contributor to this costly obesity crisis. In Ventura County for example, 39% of children and 24.8% of adults drink one or more sodas each day. If you would like to particpate in the 8-week tracking and vie for prizes, contact local Rethink Your Drink Coordinator Joann Torres.