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The Crush It Report: Volume 22

April 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In this week’s Crush It Report, we’d like to encourage you to watch a very interesting video.  Even you hard-core nutrition experts will find valuable nuggets of knowledge within!

In this video you will discover…

i) The top 4 ways to reverse obesity. (They are SUPER simple)

ii) The emergence of ______________ about 30 years ago is the biggest cause of obesity today.

iii) Why low-fat diets always fail.

iv) The Coca Cola Conspiracy that nobody talks about.

v) A TON more interesting and useful knowledge that will hopefully give you some perspective on nutrition.

What do you think?
Leave a comment below and let us know what you think of this ground-breaking video. Also, please share this page with your friends to get the word out. (you can use the social media sharing buttons below to make it nice and easy).

Best In Health,

Sean & Andy

Filed Under: CRUSH IT REPORT Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Coming To LA!

November 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Food Revolution

In an interview with SlashFood, Jaime Oliver talks about bringing his Food Revolution to Los Angeles….whether they want him or not.

He has already been denied access by L.A. School Officials, but is determined to make Los Angeles his next destination for his hit TV show.  When asked about the rebuttal by school officials Oliver replied, “If I really want to get in, I’ll get in, however that might be.”

We say bring him on!  Jamie you could do A LOT of good in the Los Angeles School District, and provide much needed exposure for childhood obesity.

Check out the full interview below.

Part 1 Below:

Part 2 Below:

Part 3 Below:

Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/23/jamie-oliver-warns-l-a-hes-on-his-way/#ixzz16F15jihy

Filed Under: ADVICE & EDUCATION, Health & Nutrition Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Nutritional Information On Vending Machines

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Nutritional Information On Vending Machines:

Outraged Vendors Don’t Have a Clue

Nutritional Facts

We Have Got Nothing To Hide!

A new law signed into effect back in March will require all vending machines to display nutritional information about each product so consumers can make more informed decisions. Sounds reasonable, right? Don’t you want to know what’s in the food you’re buying BEFORE you buy it? However, some vendors think this law is unreasonable. Apparently, consumers don’t need to have this information because it will take too much of the vendors’ time. What do you think?

What Is This Law All About?

The new regulation applies to both restaurants and vending machines. The measure states that “chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments (SRFE) with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items…as well as operators of 20 or more vending machines…to disclose certain nutrition information for certain food items offered for sale so that consumers can make more informed choices about the food they purchase.” This basically means that vending machine customers need to have access to the nutritional information for any and every item in the vending machine. Just as you check labels at the supermarket before you make a purchase, customers will now be able to compare labels of vending machine items to help them make better decisions.

Stop Complaining AND Comply!

Traditional Vendors Are Outraged

Owners and operators of old-fashioned machines are incensed because the FDA estimates that adding this type of information will take 14 million hours each year. Vendors apparently don’t have the time to keep this information up to date and don’t want to spend the extra money it may take to hire personnel to adhere to the new regulation. The complaint is that since they switch out items regularly, new labels would need to be added each time. Depending on how you go about this, it could take some extra time, yes. But there are ways to handle this new law without breaking the budget. The vending machine industry even questions the need for the new requirement in the first place. Senior vice president of government affairs for the National Automatic Merchandising Association, Ned Monroe, said, “Considering that most products purchased out of a vending machine are the same one that are well known and available in other retail channels everywhere, and not prepared menu items where consumers may be unaware of what the nutritional content is, we question whether this measure is necessary at all.” He also said this measure would “kill jobs” and the time needed to comply with it is “absurd.”

Technology Easily Handles The Requirement

Human Healthy Vending is elated about this new requirement for all vending machines. Why? Because we have already been doing this for years! Automated retail allows technology to take center stage, giving customers nutritional information and much more. The LCD screen(s) included with each machine gives customers all the information they need. The information on these screens is completely customizable and can be set up to show nutritional information in a number of ways. One of our machines allows the user to select a product using touch screen technology. Once they select that product, our machine can either show that product’s nutritional information on that same touch screen, or we can display the information on another LCD screen above that touch screen at eye level. The secret to this whole process is touch screen vending. Human makes it easy to display this information to customers. We can easily conform to this new mandate while others are just complaining!

Informed Consumers Are Better Consumers

I think we can all agree that an informed consumer is a smarter consumer. And with obesity rates as high as they are, I don’t see how vendors can argue against making consumers, their customers, more informed. Perhaps if consumers saw the labels of the junk food in the vending machines, they wouldn’t make purchases from those machines in the first place. Is that what vendors are really afraid of? Healthy vending machines have nothing to hide! We put nutritional information front and center for all to see. We want our customers to make informed decisions. We also want our customers to be healthy, at any cost.

Filed Under: VENDING INDUSTRY, Vending News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Help Pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act!

September 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Now is your chance to make a difference for America’s children! Write a letter, call, email, instant message, tweet, or poke your local congressman. Instead of taking a stand for the health of young students, our politicians are dragging their feet.  The US House of Representatives has decided to delay the vote on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill.  Now it is more important than ever to voice your approval for this bill!

Here is the most recent press release from the School Nutrition Association:

House Delays Child Nutrition Reauthorization

SNA calls for swift passage during lame-duck session

National Harbor, MD (September 30, 2010) – Last night, the US House of Representatives adjourned without passing Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation.  The School Nutrition Association, a non-profit organization representing school foodservice professionals, expressed disappointment, but called on Congress to use the days before the elections to improve on the legislation.

“School nutrition professionals across this country are working miracles every day, stretching limited funds to assemble nutritious meals that fuel our children’s school days, but in the face of rising food costs and evolving nutrition standards, school nutrition programs need additional support,” said SNA President Nancy Rice, M.Ed., RD, LD, SNS, State Director of the Georgia Department of Education, School Nutrition Division   “We can no longer afford to voice our concerns about rising rates of childhood obesity and the need to promote healthier lifestyles at school without investing in the programs that reach children in their school cafeterias each day.  It is imperative that Congress and the Administration work together to pass a strong, improved Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill.”

As Congress delays passage of Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation, the US Department of Agriculture continues to develop updated nutrition standards for school meals.  Those revised standards are expected to require larger servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  The Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for these standards acknowledges the need to increase funding for school meal programs to help meet the nutrition targets.

“America has reached a tipping point,” stated Rice.  “Many members of Congress, the Administration, the First Lady, parents and advocates nationwide have to all come together in support of expanding children’s access to healthy school meals and ensuring that all food sold at school meets nutrition standards.  We cannot let our children down.  Congress must pass an improved Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill this year.”

SNA, (http://www.schoolnutrition.org ) the School Nutrition Association, is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 53,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. Founded in 1946, the Association and its members are dedicated to feeding children safe and nutritious meals.

This bill is crucial for the healthy vending industry as it essentially outlaws the sale of junk food in schools.

Filed Under: Company Happenings, Health & Nutrition Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Trip to the Vending Machine = Walking the Plank?

August 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

“Bill rubbed his eyes from the glow of his monitor.  It was 3:00 p.m. on a Monday and he was TIRED.  Slammed with meetings, reports, and an endless barrage of emails, Bill had barely had time for lunch (a quick trip through the McDonald’s Drive-Thru).  He stood up, stretched, and stepped into the hallway to walk down to the vending machines for some much-needed energy.  As he entered the hallway he was surprised to see his co-workers jeering and yelling at him.  His boss grabbed his hands roughly and pulled them behind his back, tying them together with mailing tape.  He felt the sharp poke of scissors in his back. ‘Forward, wench! You did a poor job swabbing the poop deck, and now you must walk the plank! YARRRR!!!’”

While this may be a slight exaggeration of how the typical walk to the vending machine goes, in reality each step you make towards that can of soda might as well be a walk towards the edge.  Bill learned his soda habit in school, and kept with it his whole life…and he is not alone.

Here’s some soda facts, me maties:

  • Americans drink more soda pop than ever before.
  • Soda accounts for more than a QUARTER of all drinks consumed in the U.S.
  • More than 15 BILLION GALLONS were sold in 2000, and its only increased since then.
  • 15 BILLION GALLONS works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman, and child!
  • Soft drink consumption rates have doubled in the last decade.
  • Soft drinks are the leading source of added sugars in the average American teenager’s diet, equaling 15 to 20 teaspoons of added sugar per day!
  • Adolescents (ages 11-17) get 11% of their calories from soft drinks!
  • Drinking soda replaces nutritious drinks like milk, leading to decreased calcium consumption in girls. (One result: osteoporosis)
  • A Harvard School of Health study determined that in 9th and 10th graders, those who drank soda regularly were THREE times more likely to develop bone fractures.
  • For every soft drink consumed per day, the risk of obesity goes up by 50%

YARRRRRRRR! These kind of facts make really SHIVER ME TIMBERS. I honestly have no clue what that means. But, I think it has to do with the vibrations running down a pirate’s wooden peg leg from angry convulsions.

Anyway, its obvious that soda is horrible.  But kids have few options at school, and when they’re thirsty, THEY’RE THIRSTY! And when they want to snack on junk food, who is going to stop them? The solution? First off, replacing junk food and soda vending machines with healthy snack and drink machines.

A possible objection: Won’t the school will lose money? Answer: FALSE. North Community High School in Minneapolis replaced most of its soda machines with machines stocked with fruit juices and water and their sales INCREASED.  Other schools across the nation (Miami, Washington D.C., North Carolina, etc.) are already replacing their food AND drink machines with premium, high-tech 100% healthy vending machines.

Yar.


Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Lifestyle, The Bigger Picture Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Dark Truth About the Lack of Healthy Food in Schools

August 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Last night I watched Food, Inc.  Ever seen it? It will BLOW YOUR MIND.  It raises serious concerns about the environmental and health impacts of the fast food industry.  It will inspire you to figure out how to get healthy food into schools.

Most people, especially in cities, have no clue about where their food is actually coming from.  Do you ever stop and think: Why is this burger SO CHEAP? Seriously, when you think about it, burgers are cheaper than vegetables! And how much labor goes into harvesting & shipping a vegetables versus raising and slaughtering a cow?  Common sense would tell us that veggies should be cheaper.  But when you see how meat is obtained now via mega-slaughterhouses feeding our distribution channels, it all makes sense. No wonder its hard to eat healthy when you’re broke! But what happens when you force meat through a hyper-efficient system designed for one purpose: low price? You get contamination, son!

In December of 2009, USA Today did a study regarding the quality of food in our nation’s schools.  Do you know what they found out? Hold on, this requires large, bold font:

Meat used in school cafeterias was REJECTED by fast food joints like KFC!

I know, I know. Ridiculous, huh? School’s only get 15-20% of their food from the government but that 15-20% is made up of key commodities like beef, chicken, fruits, and vegetables! (What else is there?)

The USDA stands by its position that schools get high quality food.  But the bottom line is that you get what you pay for and the school’s can’t afford to pay for the good stuff.  And I know what you’re thinking: so what, we’re going to pay out the #@$@! for organic food in school cafeterias now? Healthy eating in schools doesn’t have to be an extreme undertaking.  It starts with simple decisions such as replacing junk food vending machines with healthy vending machines.

The Child Nutrition Act addresses some of these quality concerns, but until its passed our kids are out of luck.  So for now, PACK THAT SACK LUNCH!

Filed Under: ADVICE & EDUCATION, Health & Nutrition, The Bigger Picture Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Is Your School Up to the Challenge?

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I walked by an elementary school the other day and I did a double take. I could have sworn that instead of a playground full of children I was looking at a casting call for a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake.

You know what I’m talking about—Oompa Loompas.

Round, orange skin and white hair. Ok, maybe the orange skin and white hair are a stretch. But MAN were these kids round.

School administrators take note: YOU have the power to change this. Kids aren’t much different than us adults. They are just as limited by convenience and accessibility for their meal options.

Stock your cafeteria with McDonalds-quality food? They’ll eat it. Stock your cafeteria with tasty health food? Yep, they’ll eat that too. Have only soda and candy vending machines in the hallway? Guess where that milk money is headed. Replace them with healthy vending machines and you can bet they’ll suck down juice boxes and munch on trail mix.

If making your kids healthier for their sake alone isn’t enough, the USDA has provided monetary incentives for implementing healthy food options and physical activities into your school.

The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) is a voluntary initiative established in 2004 to recognize those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, which has created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Monetary awards between $500 and $2000 are given to schools who succeed at reaching the coveted HUSSC status, which is based on certain criteria.

I know what you’re thinking: “How can I grab a piece of that HUSSC glory?” Head over to the HUSSC Website for details and for Pete’s sake (you know, Pete, that little dumpling of a kid in room 405) get rid of your Coke machines.

Filed Under: ADVICE & EDUCATION, H.U.M.A.N., Health & Nutrition, Lifestyle, The Bigger Picture Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

H.U.M.A.N.: Creating Healthy Vending Success Part II

February 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Why We Succeed at Schools While Traditional vending Companies Fail Part II

Products that are Actually Healthy AND Taste Good

When a healthy vending program fails to reach optimal success, it almost always has to do something with the products. The products must taste good and they cannot taste that much different than what students are used to. You can’t just change students’ taste preferences on the flip of a dime. Therefore, you must work with them. Take what products students like, find healthy items that taste similar, and offer those products to the students. Healthy snacks don’t have to taste like cardboard, and they shouldn’t!

Healthy products have made a huge stride over the past five to ten ears when it comes to taste. The problem is that many of the best products are not available via standard vending machine product distributors. A vending operator needs to build a network of new suppliers and distributors with different rules, policies, and prices, and many time they’re not willing to do that. HUMAN has never been involved with anything other than healthy vending. Therefore, our suppliers and our network is dialed-in to allow for the distribution of the healthiest, tastiest products that students love. We know what students like, and what they don’t, and that’s the foundation of our program.

With over six years of taste-test research (and many, many mistakes along the way), we know how to put together the perfect healthy snack and drink plangogram (product mix) for students. It’s been a learning experience, but without this experience, success would not be possible today. Without creating the optimal product offering, nothing else matters!

LCD Screens that Educate Students & Catch Their Attention

Beyond the fact that they make the machine look much better, cooler and more innovative, LCD screens also help increase sales at healthy vending machines by educating students about the products inside the machines, providing them with the products nutritional information, & offering nutritional tips & tricks that are useful to students throughout the day. This is all done vi streaming video that can be remotely loaded and, therefore, kept fresh. When getting students to switch to healthy vending, education is so important, and the best way to educate students without doing so in person is via digital LCD screens.

The 1-2-3 Punch

In order for healthy vending to work & succeed at your school, you need all of the above to exist. You can’t do one thing right and two others wrong. You can’t have the best machines and the worst products or vice versa. The entire program needs to make sense and needs to be built for healthy vending success. Healthy vending is not the same game as traditional vending–the delivery method, in that it’s automated, may be the same, but that’s about the only similarity that exists. Everything else is a 180 degree difference. A paradigm shift is needed.

At H.U.M.A.N., healthy vending is our game. Our only game. And our goal is to create healthy vending success where others either cannot, will not, or are not able to do so. I hope we’re able to serve your school and provide your students with a ton of value!

Filed Under: ADVICE & EDUCATION, Entrepreneurship, Healthy Vending Guidelines, Philosophies & Beliefs, VENDING INDUSTRY, Vending News, Vending Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

H.U.M.A.N.: Creating Healthy Vending Success

February 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Why We Succeed at Schools While Traditional Vending Companies Fail

Education, Marketing & Promotion at School

In the world of traditional vending, an operator will conduct next to no on-location marketing & promotions. They place the machine, fill it, and once in a while change out products that aren’t selling. That’s it. This is a flawed model regardless of the type of business one is running (what’s more important than marketing & education?), and it’s especially flawed when running a business whose goal is to implement healthier snacks & drinks at school.

Healthy snack brands are often times less recognizable than traditional vending machine fare — students need to be taught about the items. Most importantly, they need to taste the items and learn for themselves that healthy snacks & drinks can and should taste good! These are not your grandma’s healthy foods — they taste just as good as traditional vending fare, but are just a whole lot healthier. Via sampling events, coupon giveaways, digital & standard signage, and consistent promotional strategies (all optional but highly recommended), H.U.M.A.N. operators get to know students and integrate directly into the school’s healthy vending initiative. This has a huge impact!

Innovative Machines Made for Healthy Vending

Selling healthy snacks from a standard, ugly, and boring vending machine is like trying to sell a new car from a used auto parts lot. It’s not going to work. Healthy vending success is all about creating a paradigm shift in the students’ minds regarding what vending, or automated retail, is all about. If the delivery channel is the exact same as standard vending, the students’ minds will expect the same products & experience. The delivery channel needs to change.

By using only new, unique looking machines with customized graphics that tell students “these machines are cool, premium, and good-for-you,” students are much more likely to approach them. And when they do approach them, they’re going to expect something different than traditional vending, and this is what we give them. That’s the whole point! Additionally, by adding innovative technology such as LCD screens, cashless card readers, and automatic conveyor sensor systems, the machines’ “cool” factor is maximized in a big way.

Running out of time today! So check out the next blog post for Part II of this bloviation…

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Health & Nutrition, Healthy Vending Guidelines, Healthy Vending Machines, Healthy Vending Products, Philosophies & Beliefs, Vending Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nutrition Matters: Schools Revamp Vending Machine Programs

February 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In most instances, people choose the  easiest, cheapest, and closest things to eat. People are obsessed with fast options that give them a “quick fix.” What happened to that good ol’ home cooking? It seems to be a lost art.

The problem with these “quick fix” food/drink options is that they are usually unhealthy. An even bigger problem is that a large percentage of these fast and convenient options are being purchased from vending machines in schools. This sets the precedent at an early age for children to develop unhealthy eating habits. The federal and state governments are taking action to stop this trend.

Massachusetts is the most state to pass a school nutrition bill that requires public schools to serve healthier meals to students, and to overhaul vending options. A Massachusetts news articles reads, “The measure would ban candy and sodas from vending machines on school property and encourage the sale of non-fried fruits or vegetables, whole grains, nonfat and low-fat dairy products.”

What a coincidence! H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending will customize a machines planogram, or product mix, to meet any nutritional requirements put in place by state and local governments. With a product list of over 1,000 healthy snacks and drinks, H.U.M.A.N. has the necessary products to meet your specific dietary requirements. We can create a plan that is 100% Organic, SB-19 compliant, Gluten-Free, Allergen-Free, Low-Fat, Low-Carb, or No Sugar-Added!

According to the Chicago Tribune, President Obama has asked for an additional $1 billion in funding for school lunches. This is a valuable addition to the battle against childhood obesity. I suggest President Obama allocates a portion of this billion dollars to a healthy vending initiative! Most kids who bypass the cafeteria altogether and head straight to a vending machine end up with a bag of chips and a can of soda for their lunch meal. H.U.M.A.N. can and wants to help. Making school lunches healthier, will not help these rebellious students who spend their lunch money on honey-buns and a soft drinks from the vending machines. If we can’t change the kids, let’s change the food options! Surrounding these kids with healthy vending machines is a beneficial step in changing purchasing options at a young age. Why not buy a bag of  Stacy’s Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips and Hansen’s Natural Soda instead of a Snickers bar and Cherry Coke?

Checkout a couple articles about school nutrition in:

The New York Times

Patriot Ledger

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Healthy Vending Products, Vending News, Vending Trends Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,