Increase Healthy Beverage Consumption and Reduce Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs): A Community Roadmap

Click on the image to open the Community Roadmap.

Drink water, not sugary beverages! This simple, no-cost behavior change can be an important step for improving health and well-being and now is a perfect time to look at the foods and beverages we consume and how they impact health. The Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation gathered eight community partners in a Water First! Journey over two years. Together, this learning community explored and shared methods and strategies for making water a first-choice drink in their communities. We partnered with the National Drinking Water Alliance and the National Tribal Water Center to build this interactive “roadmap” to assist communities everywhere in taking their own journeys to making Water First!

Whether you are contemplating strategies to improve community health, are already at work to reduce SSB consumption or increase drinking water, or are simply looking for information for Indigenous communities, check out this fun and interactive resource. It includes tips, resource links and examples from our community partners and other organizations. It provides easy to understand concepts, developed from high level research, that can be accessed by a variety of users (tribal leaders and programs, community members, nonprofits and community groups, schools, etc.). Because every community’s needs are different, this Community Roadmap will help you shape your journey, from early visioning through evaluation, without being prescriptive.

Consuming sugary drinks increases the risk of dental caries, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and other metabolic diseases, certain cancers and risk of mortality. Additionally, artificial sweeteners, flavorings and colorings, acids and the active ingredients in energy drinks, while Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), may have health risks. Sugary drinks also have a greater environmental footprint than water. Historically, our communities drank water and herbal teas without sugar. Journey with us to again make Water First!

Thank you to our collaborators/partners:

Using the Community Roadmap

Broken into five sections, the Community Road map will take you through each step and provide you with links and examples. We highly recommend viewing the map on a desktop, laptop or tablet. Smart phone screens may not be large enough to navigate the map effectively.

To enter a section, click on the “learn more” button. A black window will open over the map. Each window contains information related to the section. Some windows will contain multiple pages/sections.

To return to the map, click outside the open window, anywhere on the map.

There are hyperlinks to resources that will open a new window in your browser. Hyperlinks are identified by yellow, underlined text.

At the end of the Community Road Map, there is a link to view real stories from our Water First! Community Partners.

Common Questions/Issues:

The map is open in my internet browser but the graphics are covered, the map seems cluttered.
Try expanding the size of your browser window by placing your cursor on the bottom right corner and dragging the window to fit your screen.

I clicked on a hyperlink and am on a new website, how do I get back to the map?
The hyperlinks open a new window on your internet browser. To return to the map, click on the tab in your browser that is usually directly left of the newly opened window.

NB3 Foundation Knowledge Kit Icons for download