Professional Athletes Team Up to Fight Childhood Obesity with Healthy Vending Machines

Oct. 27, 2010 - PRLog -- A powerful new alliance was formed today in the fight against childhood obesity with the partnership between the ‘nPLAY Foundation and HUMAN Healthy Vending  , the nation’s first and only, philanthropic, completely healthy vending machines company.

‘nPLAY, an anti-childhood obesity non-profit, is a coalition of 27 athletes from 13 sports led by co-chairs NBA superstar Grant Hill and softball legend Jennie Finch. The organization’s primary focus is to help schools meet the criteria of the HealthierUS Schools Challenge. With the addition of HUMAN to their roster, ‘nPLAY  will help schools provide healthy snacks and beverages to their students while not losing revenue that is important to their economic stability during this challenging time. HUMAN will also donate a portion of revenue back to ‘nPLAY which the organization will use to assist schools in meeting the Challenge criteria.

Additionally, HUMAN is helping knock-out childhood obesity by giving away 100% free, eco-friendly, interactive healthy vending machines to schools and youth centers across the country. In addition to serving over 5,000 of healthy, tasty snacks and drinks, HUMAN’s machines also educate children via 23” LCD video screens that display up-to-the-minute nutritional tips and information.

’nPLAY Co-Chair Grant Hill says, “At ‘nPLAY we are interested in solutions, and that is why we are partnering with HUMAN. Their passion is genuine, their product is excellent and given the opportunity, they can be a major part of fixing the vending crisis that plagues our schools.”

Adds Co-Chair Jennie Finch, “I teach clinics all over America. I’ve seen first hand that children will eat healthy if given the opportunity. We hope that the education community and PTA’s will seriously explore what HUMAN Healthy Vending has to offer.”

Beyond the positive effects of providing healthy snacks to students, schools can also benefit from the HUMAN School Grant Program, which gives schools up to $2,000 for installing healthy vending machines. As legislation in Congress begins to mandate healthier options in schools, Sean Kelly, CEO of HUMAN, and his team have initiated a healthy vending program that schools can easily implement.

“We are proud to partner with ‘nPLAY and this all-star group of athletes,” says Kelly. “We are committed to being part of the solution which is why we are proud to donate a portion of our proceeds to such an effective charity in the fight against childhood obesity and malnutrition. Athletes like Grant, Jennie, Shannon Miller, Summer Sanders and the rest of this coalition are just the type of role models that kids really listen to, instead of tuning them out.”

‘nPLAY, http://www.nplayfoundation.org, is a peer-to-peer movement in which one athlete asks another to help, building membership and momentum. The organization’s initial focus is to help schools meet the criteria of the HealthierUS Schools Challenge. ‘nPLAY and the USDA-Food Nutrition Services are in the process of developing a partnership that will focus on increasing the time dedicated to physical activity/education in targeted schools. ’nPLAY is also partnered with the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition that brings together over 110 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, sporting goods and insurance companies, restaurants, a professional sports association, trade associations, NGOs and the Army.

HUMAN Healthy Vending is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. With roots dating back to 2003, the company was founded to Help Unite Man And Nutrition by making healthy eating more convenient via the placement of premium healthy vending machines across the globe. HUMAN gives 10% of all proceeds to charities that fight childhood obesity and malnutrition. Want to help? Secure a $2,000 cash grant for your school by visiting http://www.HealthyVending.com.

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'nPLAY is an children's anti-obesity non profit uniting the athletes of the sports world to help reverse the children's obesity epidemic. Led by co-chairs Grant Hill and Jennie Finch, 27 athletes from 13 sports have committed themselves to this mission.