Updated 04/14/2010 10:17 PM
Soda Buy-Back Program Takes Place In Brooklyn
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The Alliance for a Healthier New York hosted a soda buy-back program Wednesday at the New Lots Family Center in East New York.
Families were able to turn in sugar-filled drinks for gift certificates, good for fresh food.
The group's goal is to encourage healthy eating and promote Governor David Paterson's proposed tax on soda and other sugary drinks.
"Type II diabetes is now prevalent in children which it wasn't 20 years ago, and that's because of the liquid sugar they put in these beverages," said Nicole O'Loughlin of the Health Care Education Project.
"If we can reverse them drinking the sugary beverage, showing them alternatives to sugary beverages then we can save our children and give them a better life," said Jennifer Clarke-Craig of the Health Care Education Project.
Advocates for the tax say it would cut down on obesity and raise much needed revenue for the state. But so far, the proposal has not gained much support in the state Legislature.