Cafeteria Juice Bar Proposal idea: To set up portable juice bars on school campuses, offering healthy fruit and vegetable drinks, along with some healthy snacks. These juice bars would not sell commercially packaged fruit drinks because these contain a high amount of sugar. Instead, they will offer freshly squeezed juices. Freshly squeezed juices are healthy for the body and contain a lot of the essential vitamins and minerals that the body requires. " Fresh juices are a tremendous source of enzymes. In fact, the freshness of juice is one of their key features since enzymes are destroyed by heat. When fruits and vegetables are juiced raw the enzymes are still viable when you drink the juice. Another benefit of drinking fresh juices is that your body can absorb more of the vitamins and minerals than if you were to eat the fruits whole! Many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber and by juicing fruits; you break down the fiber and release the vital nutrients." (Soyquick) It is very important that students learn about the benefits of a healthy life style at a young age. The habits that a student learns early in life will remain with them throughout their life. A healthy juice and snack bar would be an excellent way to encourage students into getting into the habit of healthy eating and healthy drinking. Besides having fresh squeezed juice at the juice and snack bar, there would also be a wide variety of healthy snacks to choose from. The snacks will include fresh fruits such as bananas, apples, mangos, grapes, and peaches. Granola and fruit and fiber bars, whole grain cereals, different salads, various yogurts, and many types of organic vegetable sticks, potato chips, nacho chips, and dips. These foods will be high in vitamins and minerals and low in calories and fat. They will be highly nutritious and delicious. In addition to encouraging healthy eating habits, by incorporating a healthy food and drink bar in the school cafeteria, it will also lower the risk of diseases such as the flu or other colds and more serious illnesses such as high blood pressure, cancer, and other life altering or life threatening disease. Today, there are many studies that show that some illnesses are linked to poor eating habits. These eating habits had to have started at an early age if they contributed to a disease such as high blood pressure or cancer. So, by opening this healthy food and drink bar in the school's cafeteria, the risk of developing a disease later in life can be reduced. "Eating 5 or more servings of colorful fruits and vegetables a day is part of an important plan for healthier living. That is because deeply hued provide the wide range of vitamins, minerals, fibers, and photochemicals that the body needs to maintain good health and energy levels, protects against the effects of aging, and reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease." (5 a Day the Color Way). The way the healthy food and drink bar will be incorporated into the school cafeteria will be through the use of a space designated for the bar. The space will be leased free of charge to a specific company who will come in and provide the types of foods and drinks listed above. In exchange for free space rental, the school will ask to keep approximately 30% of the profits. This 30% will be used to fund a restaurant management program for students to learn about how to operate and manage a restaurant. In addition to the new healthy food bar, the school will also begin a "foods program" that will include courses in restaurant management, culinary arts, basic cooking, and healthy eating. Students will be able to take a series of courses within a specific program and be trained to work out in the real world. The students in the programs will have the opportunities to work and operate within the healthy food bar. This will provide them with the necessary hands on experience that will make them successful in the real world. A survey was recently conducted throughout the school and appropriately 60% of the students at the school stated that they would either be interested in enrolling in one of the "foods" programs or at least take a few classes as electives. So, this program will be a popular choice for students in the high school and it will provide them with hands on training and an opportunity to learn more about the benefits of healthy eating and healthy life styles. The products that will be available at the healthy foods and drink bar will be safe. All products will be within dietary guidelines and will be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. There will be no article flavorings or colors used in any of the foods. No dietary supplements will be made available at any time. No stimulate drinks that promote energy or strength will be sold and absolutely no drinks or snacks that are high in sugars and fats will be sold to the students. The food and drinks will all be 100% natural and nothing will be artificial. To help support this project, a nutritional advisory board will be established. This will consist of parents, students and school staff. We would also like at least one health professional to be part of this board as well. The board will meet once a month to discuss things such as the menu selections, the marketing and advertising, the "foods" program, and more. All decisions about the healthy foods and drink bar will have to be approved by this board. Finally, the program will promote local farmers and specialty food preparers. All products will be purchased from local farms or special food stores. The vendors will always be welcomed to stop by and try the products and talk to the students in the "foods" program. By purchasing the foods and drinks from local farmers and merchants, we will be giving something back to the society and in turn, we will be positively presenting our school in the community. In conclusion, this is a proposal to start a new healthy foods and juice bar in the local high school cafeteria. This is an essential addition that will encourage and promote healthy eating at a young age and will give students an opportunity to learn a trade in the "foods" program or to simply learn about different aspects of the world of healthy eating and healthy living. The students at the high school level are very excited about this program and support it 100%. Not only will it be a positive thing for the students, it will also showcase and support local farmers and specialty stores. Therefore, we present this proposal to you for your consideration.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Soy Milk Quick. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from: http://www.soymilkquick.com/fruitjuice.html 5 a Day the Color Way. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from: http://www.5aday.com/html/colorway/colorway_home.php

Healthy Snacks. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/thriftyliving/tl-snacks.html