Nama Endorses Healthy Choices Act To Help Solve Growing Obesity Problem Additional Nutrition Information Will Help Vending Customers Make Informed Choices

NAMA has long recognized how important it is to offer healthy options to their vending customers and the organization believes the Healthy Choices Act is a great step in providing choices for customers to live better lives. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) July 16, 2010 - Chicago, IL - The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) has endorsed The Healthy CHOICES Act (The Healthy Communities through Helping to Offer Incentives and Choices to Everyone in Society Act) H.R. 5209, NAMA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ned Monroe announced today.

"As the association for the food and beverage vending industry, NAMA has long recognized the importance of offering healthy options for our customers. Our members know that solutions to obesity require a comprehensive approach. This legislation is a great step in providing choice for our customers to live a better life," said Monroe.

NAMA particularly appreciates the legislation's focus on finding solutions to food deserts. For example, automatic retailing provided by vending can provide healthy food which complies with the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) requirements in underserved communities.

"We support the efforts to provide additional education on nutritional information which can help our customers make informed choices. By also focusing on increased exercise, this legislation helps provide a common sense solution to the obesity problem," said Monroe.

Commented NAMA President and CEO Richard M. Geerdes, NCE5, CCS, "Congressman Kind and the bi-partisan co-sponsors are commended for this common sense legislation. By providing incentives for healthy options and exercise, we can provide nutritious food and help solve this growing problem of obesity. Our members can provide a wide variety of healthy options in vending machines. We have such machines in the White House, for example. This bill recognizes that those same options should be made available to customers in underserved areas of our nation."

NAMA is committed to assisting in this effort, and through its Balanced for Life and Fit Pick programs are working across the nation to combat obesity. Its Fit Pick vending labeling system is currently being used in vending machines to highlight healthier options.

HR 5209 was introduced by Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and co-sponsored by Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-WI) and Marcia Fudge (D-OH).

NAMA is the national trade association of the food and refreshment vending, coffee service and foodservice management industries including on-site, commissary, catering, & mobile. Its membership is comprised of service companies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers of products and services to operating service companies. The basic mission of the association, to collectively advance and promote the automatic merchandising and coffee service industries, still guides NAMA today as it did in 1936, the year of the organization's founding.

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