“The second annual National Real Sugar Day was a celebration of people: those who grow sugarbeet and sugar cane crops and work in the American sugar industry, and everyone who enjoys eating, baking and cooking with real sugar.
After its successful debut on the National Day Calendar last year, the event has grown in scope and purpose. The theme of this year’s National Real Sugar Day was “Real People. Real Plants. Real Sugar,” with a focus on giving back. A collective, industry-wide donation effort in conjunction with National Real Sugar Day resulted in nearly 200,000 pounds of sugar and approximately $33,500 in financial contributions to local food banks, shelters, soup kitchens and clubs, and support to communities across 14 states.
“We believe it’s the people and the plants behind real sugar that makes this ingredient and industry so special,” said Sugar Association President and CEO Courtney Gaine, Ph.D., RD. “Our industry encompasses multigenerational farmers, truck drivers, mill, factory, and refinery workers, all dedicated to working together to bring real sugar from the fields to our tables. It’s fitting that this year the industry is choosing to celebrate by giving back to the communities that help foster this farm to table journey.””
Read the full article here: https://www.agweek.com/news/sugarbeet/national-real-sugar-day-yields-sweet-results-for-charities-and-a-minnesota-high-school
February 25, 2026
Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, which represents the industry on scientific matters, said at the International Sweetener Colloquium. “It is really easy to regulate sugar. You can get easy wins for sugar,” Gaine said as she others discussed the impact of the MAHA movement. “The narrative is: The government and food […]
February 20, 2026
Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, a scientific body which supports the U.S. sugar industry, told the USDA Outlook Forum that the school meal standards taking effect next year might prohibit added sugars in kindergarten meals and significantly restrict them in other grades. That change alone would cut sugar demand by over […]
January 10, 2026
The health secretary’s new dietary guidelines tell parents to cut the added sugar until their kids turn 11. “Misleading rhetoric “declaring war” on and creating unsubstantiated fear about a real ingredient like real sugar will not improve children’s health,” said Courtney Gaine, the association’s president and CEO, in a statement. “Real sugar — which comes […]
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