Healthy Concession Stands

Often time concession stand choices are high in fat, sugar, and calories and healthier options are not provided. Making healthier options available allows the consumer an opportunity to make healthier choices.

There are a variety of healthier options that can be added to concession stands.

If you manage a concession stand and are looking for assistance in improving your concession stand options, contact Angela Drent, Health Planner at Siouxland District Health Department at 279-6119 or adrent@siouxlanddistricthealth.org.

Tyson Event Center

In the Fall of 2012-Spring 2013 Siouxland District Health Department worked with Center Plate to increase the number of healthy items at the Tyson Event Center. They added Coke Zero, offered salsa with nachos, turkey burger, and a vegetable pizza. Trail mix, snackwell cookies, pop chips were placed on the counters of the concession stands, and frozen yogurt was added as an option.

East High School

In the winter of 2012-2013 East High School concession stand started offering go-gurt, chicken sandwich, an all fruit-fruit snack, baked chips, and Powerade Zero.

Sioux City Swimming Pools

Siouxland District Health Department (SDHD) partnered with the City of Sioux City Parks and Recreation Department and a few local vendors to increase the availability of healthier food and beverage options at Riverside Aquatic Center and Cook Pool. In 2013, they have replaced regular chips with baked chips and have added a granola bar, a warm soft pretzel, and a cheese stick to the menu. All items, except the cheese stick sold well and were offered again in 2014.

New menus, pricing strategies, creative naming, and larger font sizes were used to grab the consumer’s attention to the healthier options, as seen in the picture.

Mix it Up

Mix It Up messaging was also used to draw attention to the healthier options. Large banners were placed on the fences at the pools, posters hang in the rec center, messaging was added to the menus.

Moville’s Haskell Pool

Haskell Pool in Moville added the following options to their menu: 2 flavors of Go-gurt and squeezeable applesauce. They replaced cookies with rice krispee treats, replaced large bags of fruit snacks with smaller bags, replaced Laffy Taffy with Goldfish crackers, replaced Capri Sun with a 100% juice pouch, replaced regular chips with baked chips, and added water to the pop machine. The pool concession sign highlights the healthier options.

Sergeant Bluff Community Pool

Sergeant Bluff Pool added the following: Go-gurt, apples, bananas, rice krispee treats, and PB&J Uncrustables. They also replaced regular chips with baked chips. As for beverages they added 100% juice and water. They replaced Powerade with Powerade Zero and Sprite Zero replaced Sprite. They also identified all healthier options on a new menu board – shown below.

LaunchPAD Children’s Museum

The LaunchPAD Children’s Museum offers the following healthier snack options: granola bars, Teddy Grahams, Peanut Butter Bites, Funyans, Gold Fish crackers, baked chips, apple sauce, and Go-Gurt. They also offer these healthier beverage options: water, low-fat chocolate milk, 100% juice, and Diet Coke.