Submit Ideas For New Sheffield Low-sugar Cook Book

People in Sheffield are invited to send in ideas and homemade recipes for a new low-sugar food book as part of a citywide initiative to reduce sugar levels in our diets.

Let’s help ourselves, our children, our families and our city eat less sugar – we’re all sweet enough. That is the message behind Sheffield City Council’s ‘Sheffield is sweet enough’ campaign, a major public health initiative to help local families, schools and healthcare professionals tackle sugar consumption, to reduce tooth decay and obesity.

As part of the campaign, which advocates for keeping our sugar intake low, contributions are being sought from the local community to feature in an exciting new low sugar foods and recipe book.

Sheffield residents, businesses and community groups can send in their sugar free suggestions and homemade recipes to be included in ‘The Sheffield Family Guide to Smart Sugar Swaps’ being launched at the start of 2021.

Anyone can get involved – from schools to parents, child minders, local businesses, restaurants and cafes. The idea is to create a rich catalogue of easy and affordable low-sugar recipes and smart sugar swaps, to help the city tackle the challenges of high sugar consumption and establish healthier eating habits.

Councillor Mary Lea, Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Leisure, and the city’s lead on the low sugar campaign, said:: “We’re really excited to launch our low-sugar food book as part of the ‘Sheffield is Sweet Enough’ campaign. Our aim is to provide a fun, positive way to share easy, affordable recipes and sugar swaps. The idea is that this will be less of a traditional recipe book and more of a low sugar inspiration and education book, with top tips, help and advice for cutting back on sugar for all the family but still being able to enjoy tasty meals and snacks.

“We would love for the book to be created in partnership with our residents and want all our communities to get involved, from schools and parents, to local businesses large and small. We’d love to hear from anyone looking to be a part of this great initiative aimed at sharing the facts and helping the city make smarter, healthier choices in regard to food and drink.”

The ‘Sheffield is Sweet Enough’ initiative was launched in February this year to provide information on the effects of too much sugar and the tools families need to make informed choices to support their health. It aims to help reduce tooth decay and obesity in Sheffield over the next five years.

Research carried out in Sheffield shows that there is a lack of understanding about recommended daily sugar limits and how much sugar different foods contain. Sheffield City Council hopes that their new food book can help break down these barriers.



Jessica Wilson from Sheffield City Council’s Public Health Team adds: “Too much sugar in our diets can contribute to tooth decay and obesity which both have massive impact on our health so it’s really important to build healthy habits in to family life. Sharing our knowledge and ideas with each other really helps and there are a number of ways businesses and individuals can get involved by sending in snack ideas, simple recipes or low sugar tips and replacement tricks. Our campaign is all about making sugar-free alternatives easy and helping families to reduce their sugar intake. When it comes to ideas, the more the better.”

Sheffield’s Sweet Enough is a campaign run by Sheffield City Council and partners to help local families, food businesses, schools and healthcare professionals tackle the harms caused by eating too much sugar. Together with partners, which include the NHS, Sheffield’s universities, and the voluntary sector – its aim is to share helpful facts, sugar swaps, tips and advice for all ages.

Businesses and individuals are invited to submit their recipes and ‘low-sugar’ ideas in the following ways by email - sarah.hydes@foundrycomms.co.uk or direct messages on Instagram @sheffieldissweetenough and Facebook – sheffieldissweetenough.

Ideas must be submitted before Friday 27th November.