Zero Calorie Sweetener Holds Second Annual Grant Program to Support Youth Sports Programs

Brooklyn, NY (January 2015) - In a continued effort to support and celebrate youth sports programs that provide a way for community youth to be physically active, Sweet’N Low®, America’s favorite pink zero calorie sweetener, has presented 59 teams with a Sweet’N Low Youth Sports Grant. Each team was awarded a stipend to help supplement the cost of uniforms, gear, training, registration fees or other program-related expenses.

Obesity and diabetes affect the entire United States, with more than 26 million American children and adults suffering from diabetes and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one third of US children and adolescents classified as overweight or obese in 2012. The goal of the second-annual Sweet’N Low Youth Sports Grant is to encourage children to adopt active lifestyles paired with healthy eating habits at a young age, as first steps in fighting obesity and diabetes.

“Sweet’N Low has helped millions of adults manage their weight and maintain a sweet life without the added sugar and calories for more than five decades. However, living a healthy lifestyle - including managing your sugar intake and staying physically active is essential at all ages,” said Steven Eisenstadt, President and CEO of Cumberland Packing Corp., the manufacturer of Sweet’N Low. “Sweet’N Low is proud to reward teams from all over the country, like the Brooklyn Bombers football squad out of New York City and Sierra Vista, Arizona’s SV Sounders, for the preventative steps they have taken to fight diabetes and childhood obesity in their local community."

“Good habits start young and it is our hope that by supporting community-based athletics with our Sweet’N Low Youth Sports Grant, we will help to improve the nation’s alarming childhood obesity and diabetes statics,” Eisenstadt added.

This is the second year that Sweet’N Low is distributing stipends to nationwide youth sports teams. As obesity and diabetes are growing epidemics in America, this year the program has awarded grants totaling almost $24,000 to youth sports teams. From swimming to hockey, youth teams of any sport and size were eligible for the grant.