Changing Culture & Building Power: Evaluating a Decade of Berkeley’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax
The environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age influence our health and wellbeing on multiple levels. Nearly a decade ago, and after recognizing the urgent need to address long-standing inequitable health outcomes among communities of color, residents in the City of Berkeley set out to influence one aspect of their environment: reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and increase consumption of water. Community residents, leaders, academics, and national partners came together to organize against the beverage industry. This landmark effort culminated in the passage of Measure D in November 2014, establishing a tax on SSB distributors. This initiative not only aimed to reduce consumption of sugary beverages in Berkeley, it also sought to promote health and racial equity, cultivate a culture a health, and build community power to sustain a long-term commitment to achieving health justice.
To date, the anticipated effects of the tax on the retail prices of sugary beverages sold in Berkeley have been well documented, leaving room for an evaluation that explores and captures a more expansive and inclusive story of the work being supported by Measure D. This is a story that comes from Berkeley leaders and residents most proximate to efforts on the ground. This involved forming and engaging an Evaluation Advisory Group throughout the evaluation process to center community voices and shape the design and focus of the evaluation. As a result, this evaluation shares stories of impact, transformation, and community power building from the perspectives of Berkeley leaders and residents.
In interviews with leaders from grantee organizations and those involved in the campaign, and story-telling sessions with Berkeley youth and adults involved in and supportedby Measure D-funded work, the evaluation team identified key system and community impacts that resulted from this initiative, as well as examples of how racial equity and community power building were centered in the efforts to build a healthier community overall.
+ SUGGESTED CITATION
Shayla Spilker & The Praxis Project (2024, May). Changing Culture & Building Power: Evaluating a Decade of Berkeley’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax. Retrieved from [https://www.thepraxisproject.org/resource/2024/berkeleyssb[1].