History of the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program
CDC launched the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP) in 2010 with a 3-year demonstration program. Currently, CDC funds eight recipients working with local schools, hospitals, worksites, and meal programs to lower the amount of sodium in foods purchased or prepared by these organizations.
Learn more about the history of SRCP and its role in helping Americans reduce their sodium intake.
In this current round of SRCP, CDC funds six communities and two states to continue to improve nutrition and increase access to lower-sodium options.
Although findings from the 2010–2013 and 2013–2016 recipients of the program show that sodium reduction is possible and acceptable to consumers, more work was needed in a third round of the program to determine if these interventions result in sustainable, population-wide reductions in sodium consumption; how these strategies influence the supply and help to identify lower-sodium products; and if effective strategies can be expanded to increase impact.
CDC will measure specific outcomes to find out if these strategies meet programmatic goals in the priority venues. CDC will base the assessment on both local and cross-site evaluations.
Learn more
- Learn more about the 2016 recipients’ current activities.
- See the map of the 2016–2021 funded sites.
- Read about the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program.
Based on lessons learned during the demonstration, CDC awarded funding in 2013 to 10 communities to start and test promising sodium reduction strategies. These communities worked to reduce sodium intake by adding lower-sodium options in worksites, hospitals, meal programs, early care and education settings, and independent restaurants.
Each of the 2013 recipients of this program documented their successes in the following areas:
- Developing nutrition standards, such as worksite-specific or countywide food service guidelines that include sodium limits for meals served.
- Working directly with food service professionals on reducing the sodium content of foods purchased or prepared in the kitchen.
- Working with entities that serve or sell food to standardize purchasing of lower-sodium options.
- Developing salt-free cooking practices.
These strategies increase of the number of healthy options available to consumers by lowering sodium content in the food supply.
Learn more
- View the Early Outcomes for Sodium Reduction in Communities Program pdf icon[PDF-437K] infographic.
Read success stories from the 2013 funded sites:
- California
- Shasta County: Shasta County Lowers Sodium in Kids Meals at Local Restaurants pdf icon[PDF-153K]
- Los Angeles County: Choose Health LA: Reducing Sodium in Los Angeles County pdf icon[PDF-145K]
- Los Angeles County: Using Contracts to Reduce Sodium in Government Food Environments pdf icon[PDF-200K]
- San Diego: Building Relationships Through Sodium Reduction pdf icon[PDF-200K]
- San Diego: County Psychiatric Hospital Lowers Sodium in Meals pdf icon[PDF-170K]
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas (Shawnee County): Eating As Well As the Animals? pdf icon[PDF-154K]
- Maine
- Cumberland and Penobscot Counties: Sodium Reduction Efforts at Maine Food Pantries pdf icon[PDF – 380K]
- Massachusetts: Massachusetts Highlights the Main Sources of Sodium to Promote Heart Health pdf icon[PDF-467K]
- New York
- New York City: NYC Healthy Hospital Food Initiative pdf icon[PDF-495K]
- New York City: Partnering With Food Distributors to Reduce Sodium pdf icon[PDF-323K]
- Broome County: Reducing Sodium in School Meals is Elementary—Broome County Health Department and Broome Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services pdf icon[PDF-389K]
- Steuben County: Reducing Sodium in Steuben County: Purchase, Preparation, and Portions pdf icon[PDF-250K]
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Washington
- Evaluating the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program: Lessons Learned from Planning and Early Implementation pdf icon[PDF-819K]
In September 2010, CDC funded five recipients to conduct community-level sodium reduction work. This demonstration program sought to reduce sodium consumption and find out whether consumers would accept the reduction.
Learn more
- Read the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice supplement, “Public Health Interventions to Reduce Sodium Intakeexternal icon,” which features articles from the 2010 SRCP sites.
- View success stories from several 2010 funded sites:
- Shasta County Lowers Sodium in Kids Meals at Local Restaurants pdf icon[PDF-153K]
- Reducing Sodium—A Johnson County Heart Health Initiative pdf icon[PDF-347K]
- Eating As Well As the Animals? pdf icon[PDF-154K]
- Reducing Sodium in School Meals is Elementary—Broome County Health Department and Broome Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services pdf icon[PDF-389K]
