The UC Healthy Beverage Initiative aims to improve access to tap water and encourage its use as a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and provide the opportunity for UC campuses to make strides towards a partial or full removal of sugar sweetened beverage sales.
Unhealthy diets, such as those high in added sugars, are a major contributor to the development of preventable chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes, cancer, obesity, and its related cardiometabolic conditions (e.g., non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), such as sodas, sport drinks, sweetened juice, and sweetened coffees and teas, are the main source of added sugars in the American diet.
HBI History
The Healthy Beverage Initiative was originally piloted by UCSF in 2015, which involved the removal of sale of all sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) from campus vending machines. Staff who volunteered for a 10-month study during the elimination of SSB sales displayed nearly a 50% reduction in overall SSB consumption and experienced a significant loss of belly fat, as well as lower cholesterol and improved insulin resistance.
Due to the successes that UCSF experienced with the implementation of the Healthy Beverage Initiative, the UC-wide Healthy Campus Network in partnership with UC Systemwide Human Resources sought to expand the HBI to the other UC campuses. In 2019, nine campuses signed onto the HBI. In addition to the long term goal of reducing SSBs, the initiative provided funding for each campus to install hydration stations and gooseneck water bottle fillers in order to increase access to tap water, as well as funding to market tap water as a healthy alternative to SSBs.
HBI at UCSC
Increasing Access to Tap Water
With the UC Healthy Beverage Initiative funding, the Faculty & Staff Wellness Program identified areas of need for additional water bottle fill stations and completed installation of four full water bottle fill stations and five gooseneck water fillers. The additional water bottle fill stations can be found in the following locations:
- Crown College Clock Tower: Full water bottle filler station
- Exterior of Cowell Library: Full water bottle filler station
- Stevenson Admin Breezeway: Full water bottle filler station
- Baskin Engineering Auditorium: Full water bottle filler station
- Thimann Labs 1st Floor: Gooseneck
- Social Sciences 2nd Floor: Gooseneck
- Coastal Biology Building: Gooseneck
- Academic Resource Center: Gooseneck
- Barn H, TAPS Office: Gooseneck
A map of all the locations on campus where students, faculty, staff, and visitors can fill their water bottles can be found below.
Reducing Sugar Sweetened Beverages
On January 6, 2023, Dining Services updated their fountain dispensers to include more healthy options and SSB alternatives. This is an important step in the reduction of sales of sugar sweetened beverages on our campus.
For Questions
Please reach out to Jessica Bulleri, Campus Wellness Program Manager, at jbulleri@ucsc.edu if you have any questions.
