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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

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5 Reasons To Start A Vending Business

November 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Dreaming on the Job

This quirky video – Office Space meets The Office meets Joe Versus the Volcano all in 4 minutes – is a huge reason for starting a vending machine business.  You might not think vending machines provide the escape you’re looking for, but keep this video in mind and read to discover more reasons that it is.  (Aside: Joe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks film that I watched after enjoying You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Not on the same level. Very strange.)

1) Your Ideal Job is Out There

As a recent graduate with a degree in something I do not want to do, I have spent a lot of time lately looking for my ideal job. The elusive dream. I only have a few small requirements:

a) I want to do something meaningful. I want to work for the good of humanity and feel like my time is well spent. Forget flipping burgers or endless data entry — I want to make a difference. Life is too short to spend it on meaningless pursuits. I want to leave a legacy for future generations.

b) I want to do something profitable. I have a lot of skills. Sure, at the moment they seem to not be that marketable, but if Joe Techno down the road can get 35 dollars an hour, possessing the social prowess of an irritated donkey, I — a well-rounded, well-read, smart, social, motivated, working woman — should be able to find something that people will pay me well for.

c) I want to do something flexible. Let’s face it: there are a lot of jobs, even meaningful, profitable ones, that are soul-killing in their practice. Take being a surgeon, for example. Yes, you are saving people’s lives and making a ton of money. But that schedule!  You never see your family — if, that is, you found time somewhere between medical school and interning to start one.  Your social life revolves around the nurses’ station and patients’ paperwork. You are in surgery for hours and come out so brain-dead you might as well be the next one on the table, and you find you have 10 hours left of your shift.

No, thank you!  I want to see my family.  I want to spend time with friends.  I want a vacation once in a while.  I kind of want to travel to France.  Maybe Turkey. Is that too much to ask?  In America today, sometimes it seems like flexibility (or, what I call, “livability”) is no longer an option.  And then when you ask for all three together --meaningful, profitable, flexible — you might as well ask for the moon.

So when I found something that combined the three, I had to talk about. For all you idealists out there, don’t give up hope!  You’ll never believe what it is: vending machines.  I couldn’t believe it either, but stay tuned in. You can get into the healthy vending machine business and make our own schedule, make money, and make a difference. Vending in general is great, but if you really want to make a difference, health-food vending is the way to go in this day and age.

Why Vending?

It is very easy to start a vending business on your own. You don’t need any special degree; you just have to be a self-motivated individual, willing to learn, with a good dose of common sense. But you’ll find out exactly what you need after you get started. I’m here to ensure that you do.

2) Passive income

After you buy and stock a machine and put it in a great location, your machine is making money for you around the clock. Vending machines require very little attention, which means you can do other things with your time.  Whether you are putting in a 40-hour week, road-tripping with the girls, or getting stuff done around the house, you can be making extra money without even thinking about it. What could be better than that?  Whereas with most employment there’s a 1-to-1 trade-off, (work for pay, or, no work for no pay), passive income generates itself. It’s like an investment: Work up front and reap the benefits for a long time.

2) Flexible schedule

Here’s that livability thing I was talking about. Life happens, whether or not you are around for it.  But there are steps you can take to be around.  One such step is finding a job where you set your own schedule. Vending machines generate passive income, so that already allows you lots of able-to-be-absent time, but they also don’t have office hours. Of course, you have to work with the location, but within reason you can make your “rounds” whenever you want.  Technologically advanced machines help this process even more. With a computer and the Internet, you can remotely monitor stock levels, maintenance needs, and cash flow.  You may get to such a level of comfort that you never have to visit a machine after initial installation.

3) You’re the boss

Making your own schedule is only one benefit of being your own boss.  Think of the others.  No performance reviews.  No micromanaging or politicking.  No conforming to someone else’s vision or demands.  No making money for somebody else.  You work the way you want to achieve the result you’re looking for.  You take home the profit at the end of the day.  Of course, you’ll want to work with a vending franchise, but you aren’t working for them.  A good franchise can help you with location and item selection, machine technology and maintenance, and can offer continuing support.  I mean, you’re new and they’re professionals, so make use of their expertise.  With the Internet, learning from the pros is easy.  This clip gives you an introduction to “vending school.”

5) Healthy Vending Helps People Live Better lives

Now, as a pragmatist, vending makes sense.  But can you really feel good about it?  Before I learned about the healthy trends in the vending market, I would have said no.  Selling junk to people who don’t need it in places they can’t resist is not the way I want to make money.  That scenario is clearly less than ideal on a human level.

It's Not Halloween Everyday

Instead you can make money by providing healthy alternatives to people who need them in places that lack them.  Now doesn’t that sound better?  Downright altruistic.  And America needs some altruists working on their food. According to the Center for Disease Control, childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years.  In 2009, only Colorado and D.C. had a prevalence of obesity less than 20% of the population!  That’s outrageous!  Clearly, people don’t know how to eat the right amount of food for their bodies.  So what do food retailers do?  Make addictive, chemical-filled, calorie-chocked, highly marketed food completely devoid of nutritional value and sell it to us to make ridiculous profits.  That’s unconscionable.

You Don't Always Want or Have Time for This

You can be a part of changing that.  In fact, if you’re getting into the vending industry, you should be a part of it if you’re savvy.  Traditional vending is on its way out.  People are starting to monitor what they’re putting into their bodies, and they’re starting to want it to be something that will benefit them long-term instead of just gratify them in the moment.  Of course, if some little snack could do both, that would be even better.

Bright entrepreneurs are catching on. When bottled water sales started growing by leaps and bounds, thinkers put on their caps and thought: “Perhaps people are looking for something healthier among the sodas and Snickers bars in that machine.  What if everything in that machine were healthy?” Others, like Sean Kelly, founder of one up-and-coming vending movement, saw devout exercisers on the treadmill with a Coke at the gym and thought: “If we don’t have healthy items accessible, how can we expect anyone to get healthier?”

Kelly’s company, H.U.M.A.N., is doing the product research and technological innovation you would not know how to do and ensuring that your healthy vending machines are glitch-free.  They find what products sell – some even interview people at the location of the machine to find what kinds of snacks they prefer – and are making top-of-the-line machines with features like LCD displays, cashless payment options, and infrared vend sensors to ensure that you are making the most efficient profit you can.

So, if you missed the 5 reasons, here’s the quick recap:

1) You don’t want to be in a cubicle

2) Vending creates passive income

3) The schedule’s flexible

4) You’re your own boss

5) Healthy vending helps people live better lives

Now get started. Find a company with a conscience, and the technology to back it up, and start your dream job today.

Who knew that vending could be so interesting?

Recommended Resources

Ready to go?  Become a partner operator with H.U.M.A.N.: http://www.healthyvending.com/contactus/operators

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The Crush It Report – Volume 4

November 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mmmmmm That Value Smells Good!

Give and You Shall Receive

Last week I talked about the importance of Providing Value.  At HUMAN we voraciously believe nothing is more important than this in life…nothing!   In fact, “crushing it” is really just about being a massive value provider.  They’re one and the same.

Who are some examples of value-providers?

Great question.  Everyone knows value-providers because either they or their product is fantastic, and they’re in the public eye.  However, that doesn’t mean that in order to be a massive value-provider you have to be famous!  It’s quite the contrary.

iPAD and iPhone!

Apple

This is an example with which everyone is familiar.   Rarely will you find someone who buys a product from Apple – many times for a good chunk of money – that says it wasn’t worth the money.  Sure, people might complain about the horrible service of the iPhone, but that’s more of an AT&T problem, not an Apple problem.   In fact, people feel that the iPhone provides so much value, that they buy the product in droves despite the terrible service.

That says something about Apple.

They provide products that people are more than happy to pay good money for because in the end the customer feels they get more from the product then they put in (or in this case spend).  I certainly can’t say the same for AT&T though…they’re a value-sucker!  Or am I just a sucker for having an iPhone? Anyway….

My Cleaning Lady

None of you know her.  But she is phenomenal.  She always shows-up to my house happy, is a joy to be around, and equally as important, does a phenomenal job cleaning my place.  In a world of rip-offs, underachievers, and semi or complete scams, this is refreshing.  She takes pride in her work and kicks butt every single time.   She “crushes it” when it comes to cleaning.   I pay her between $80 to $100 each time she cleans and would gladly pay more.   She gives me more value than it costs me to get that value.   She’s just as much, possibly more so, of a value-provider in my life as Apple.

Mentor Bob

I have many mentors in my life (I think few things are more important than mentors when it comes to creating an ideal “crushing it” atmosphere around yourself).   One of these mentors is a guy named Bob.  Beyond being a blast to speak with and being one of the most hilarious guys I know (thus providing value by making me laugh and feel good every time I talk with him), he’s reliable and truly looks out for my best interest.  Sure, as a result of this I’ll always think of him first if something comes up that could help him (i.e. client referrals), but that’s not why he helps me.

He’s simply a guy who is used to giving all the value he can and because of it leads a very fulfilled life.

The Pen is Smart!

LiveScribe

If you don’t know this company check it out.  They have the coolest $150 pens in the world that most people would gladly pay 5-10x for once you see how cool and helpful they can be. Total value-provider. www.LiveScribe.com

As human beings, we have many traits that are incredibly difficult to escape.

Some of these traits are to our advantage and some are to our disadvantage. One of these traits that’s to our advantage is the inherent desire to repay people for what they’ve done for us.

Why do we feel this way…? And why does providing value work?

Check back next week for the answer to these questions, as well as tips for putting yourself in a value-producing mindset.  Have an amazing rest of the week!

Best in health,

Sean & Andy,

Founders, HUMAN Healthy Vending

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Green Hands!

Get Caught GREEN Handed!

Everybody is going to win. And that means YOU.

THAT IS IF you get caught GREEN HANDED!

This week marks our first ever Green Hand Giveaway!

Yesss…But what does that mean?

It means that once a month from now on, we will be giving away some awesome swag to our readers.

And all YOU have to do send  a picture of you, your friend, or you and your friends, with Green Hands.

It doesn’t matter how you do it, whether your hands are covered in paint, marker, frosting, gloves, guacamole, Alien blood,…etc.

The most creative, best entry will win. (P.S. Alien blood will definitely win).

Awesome Stuff

But what do we win?

We have partnered with our friends at HARD Nutrition to give you exclusive access to the Newest, All-Natural Nutritional Drinks on the market…FOR ABSOLUTELY FREE.  Think Vitamin Water with actual vitamins and enzymes.

The Functional Water System is designed for anyone who wants to “crush it” at the next level, whether it is in the gym with WIN, at work with WIDE AWAKE, or in the evening after a long day with FIX IT.

First Prize: Wins the COMPLETE Functional Water System from HARD Nutrition PLUS an awesome cooler that you can take with you to the beach, or the ski-slopes (worth over $60!) or a HUMAN T-shirt.

Boom Boom All-Natural Energizing Inhaler

Second Prize: Wins either the Complete System or a HUMAN T-shirt (depending on what first place chooses).

All entries will win a free Boom Boom Energy Inhaler to help you crush it.

Boom Boom is an awesome all-natural energy booster that can help you get your focus back during long days, drives, or late-nights.

Alright, I want this stuff!  How do I enter?

It is very easy, all we need is three things from you:

Send pictures of you and your friends with GREEN HANDS, along with your full name and mailing address to:

crushitreport@healthyvending.com

DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 23rd, 2010

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How To Turn Your “Dud” Vending Location

In To A “Stud” Location: Part 4

This is your last week, of “Dud” to “Stud”!  If you follow this plan, your vending machines will be cranking.  Please let us know if any of you have followed this program, we want to hear results!

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Send Tips, Comments, Suggestions, or Jokes to crushitreport@healthyvending.com

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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.

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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.


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Obesity Task Force: The Lowdown on the White House’s Plan for Healthy Schools

July 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When I picture an “Obesity Task Force”, I picture Richard Simmons barking orders drill-sergeant style to a platoon of spandex-clad fitness freaks.  Apparently I’m way off, because the real Obesity Task Force is deadly serious about creating healthy schools and healthy kids.

The Obesity Task Force (where people wear suits, not spandex) was created by President Obama in 2009 and is closely related to the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign.  These initiatives represent the sense of urgency felt in all levels of government and society to implement concrete changes to the lifestyles of our nation’s youth.  Obesity is on the rise, healthy eating is plummeting, and physical activity is grinding to a halt.

So what makes the OTF different from every other committee that simply talks but never delivers real meaningful change? It all comes down to action plans.

According to a White House statement, the Obesity Task Force plan aims to achieve the following:

“1. Getting children a healthy start on life, with good prenatal care for their parents; support for breastfeeding; and quality child care settings with nutritious food and ample opportunity for young children to be physically active.”

In my opinion this starts at home.  If you let your kid eat McDonald’s all the time, grab soda from a traditional vending machine instead of fruit juice from a healthy vending machine, and let them sit in front of the tube all day then OF COURSE they’ll be fat.

“2. Empowering parents and caregivers with simpler, more actionable messages about nutritional choices based on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans; improved labels on food and menus that provide clear information to help make healthy choices for children; reduced marketing of unhealthy products to children; and improved health care services, including BMI measurement for all children.”

Kids are like lemmings.  Or do I mean monkeys? Or do I mean a weird hybrid animal between the two? (Pause here to picture this and laugh.  Now pull yourself together and keep reading).  The point is they mimic and follow what we big people do.  If they see mom and dad caring about what they eat then they will too.

“3. Providing healthy food in schools, through improvements in federally supported school lunches and breakfasts; upgrading the nutritional quality of other foods sold in schools; and improving nutrition education and the overall school environment.”

Here’s where the school board and administrators come in.  Kids are at the mercy of your cafeteria.  With the government SUBSIDIZING your food through the National School Lunch Program, you need to choose a healthy food service.  Natural and organic foods are much better fuel for learning than the alternative. Also, replace those Coke and Pepsi machines with a healthy vending machine!

“4. Improving access to healthy, affordable food by eliminating “food deserts” in urban and rural America; lowering the relative prices of healthier foods; developing or reformulating food products to be healthier; and reducing the incidence of hunger, which has been linked to obesity.”

Low number of food options means low quality of food options.  Healthy snacks don’t just grow on trees. Oh wait, they do, they’re called apples.  But last I checked there aren’t too many apple trees in the city.  That leaves vast stretches of concrete jungle where fast food and candy/soda machines dominate your eyesight.  And until  healthy vending machines and natural food stores become conveniently common, people will keep hitting those drive-thrus.

“5. Getting children more physically active through quality physical education, recess and other opportunities in and after school; addressing aspects of the “built environment” that make it difficult for children to walk or bike safely in their communities; and improving access to safe parks, playgrounds, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.”

I interpreted this as “make gym class fun again”.  Kids have vast stores of energy, and this needs to be channeled into things other than video games and YouTube.  And I doubt kids are going to argue with more recess time.  Being able to ride their bikes without fear of getting hit by passing motorists would also be a plus.

Bottom line is I like where this Obesity Task Force is headed.  The gray suits are a little boring, and maybe they could use some of Richard Simmons’ flare, but they are taking a bold step in battling one of our country’s greatest threats: unhealthy children.

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July 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Hi there, I’m Kelly! In this video I’m going to tell you a little bit about how having HUMAN’s vending machines in school can make money for your school while keeping your students healthy. I’ll also tell you how HUMAN’s “Young Entrepreneur” program can even teach students how to run a business!

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Obesity Gets Knocked Out by Healthy Vending Machines Thanks to the Boys & Girls Club of Ada County, ID!

July 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Muhammad Ali. Joe Louis. Sugar Ray Robinson.

Obesity and malnutrition would rather step into the ring with these boxing greats than the Boys & Girls Club of Ada County, Idaho.

The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

Gotta love ‘em.

The cutting of the ribbon!On July 20th, the Garden City and Meridian clubs joined the fight to promote health for its kids by implementing a state of the art healthy vending program through H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending.  With a high tech machine installed at each club, the positive and measurable impact on the kids’ health has begun.

Star athletes from Boise State and nutrition experts participated in an educational event before unveiling the machines, speaking to the children about the importance of nutrition and exercise at the Moseley Center.

CHECK OUT THE NEWS COVERAGE OF THE EVENT!

Local H.U.M.A.N. operators Amy and John Hobbing are excited to be the first exclusive healthy vending operators in Idaho: “As leaders in the Treasure Valley have come to realize, poor nutrition and obesity are not just bad for kids, but its bad for business.  One out of every three adults and children are now classified as overweight or obese.  The cost of poor health is well documented: lost productivity, higher healthcare costs and a lower quality of life.  We have decided to take a stand against poor health and help innovative organizations and leaders like the Boys & Girls Club bring the right kind of tools to help kids and adults with better nutritional choices.  Lastly, we want people to know that good health can taste good!”

When I was a kid, I couldn’t tell you the difference between sodium and simple carbohydrates.  Heck, most of the time I couldn’t even match my socks.  Not surprisingly, not much has changed.  In Garden City, the kids crowded around the colorful and high-tech machine feeding it quarters and excitedly retrieving their snacks as reporters quizzed them on what the basic ingredients were.  The look on the kids’ faces said it all: “I don’t know, lady, I just know it tastes good!”

With a customized array of snacks chosen for both taste and nutritional content, kids and parents were not disappointed.

I have to say that nothing warms my heart more than seeing a kid chugging Hansen’s soda instead of Pepsi.  My wife was offended by this because apparently our wedding video should take precedence, but that’s neither here nor there.

And as childhood obesity rates soar throughout the country, the Boys & Girls Club in Ada County, Idaho has scored a first round knockout.


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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.

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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!

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