Baltimore Organizations and Schools Embrace Fresh Healthy Vending

Online, December 11, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Local business owner L.A. Brickner has launched a franchise of Fresh Healthy Vending machine throughout the Baltimore area, installing Fresh Healthy Vending machines in 19 locations within the past year.

Motivated to better her community by improving access to fresh, healthy snacks and beverages, Brickner has installed machines at a wide range of local organizations, including middle and high schools, a health care center, an art museum, the School of Rock, Jewish Community Centers (JCC), and even the National Headquarters of the NAACP. Through the installation of the Fresh Healthy Vending machines, Brickner offers different sectors of Baltimore the same access to affordable healthy snacks and beverages, such as smoothies, soymilk, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, granola bars, baked chips and natural sodas.

"Fresh Healthy Vending machines are a great way to offer people of all walks of life healthier food options tailored to their dietary needs, as evidenced by Ms. Brickner's success in Baltimore," said Dan Negroni, CEO of Fresh Healthy Vending. "Teaching community members of all ages the importance of eating healthfully and prompting them to make more nutritious food choices is something we believe is critical, especially considering the rise of obesity. We are happy to see various organizations throughout Baltimore take the necessary steps to safeguard their children and promote healthful living."

By installing machines in various locations, Brickner is able to bridge the socioeconomic gap in Baltimore through a common ground of healthy eating and maintaining a well-balanced diet that includes healthy snacks and beverages. With Fresh Healthy Vending, organizations are able to tailor the offerings in the machines, including selling only gluten-free or kosher items, to meet consumers' specific needs, such as in the JCCs.

"The need for healthy, fresh, affordable snacks and beverages is universal, which I found in my experience working with organizations from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, the School of Rock kids are already familiar with the products, while the inner city high school kids initially balked at the unfamiliar 'healthy' items, but now line up to buy pita chips and organic cookies," explains L.A. Brickner. "If you give people the opportunity to eat healthier, they will, regardless of where they are or how they're raised."

The Fresh Healthy Vending machines launched in Baltimore are some of the 1,700 locations throughout North America, with locations in office break rooms, school campuses, shopping malls, hospitals and more. In addition to the healthier vending machine snacks and beverages, Fresh Healthy Vending also produces the Fresh Healthy Cafe machine, a vending machine that distributes gourmet organic coffee drinks together with their signature healthy snack options. As of August 2012, Fresh Healthy Vending has more than 150 franchises.

Fresh Healthy Vending touts its vending products as a means to keep minds and bodies in better shape. Their mission is to help eliminate junk food, which is associated with causing obesity, higher absenteeism and higher medical insurance rates.