Robeks has just opened one of the country’s first public school juice bars at Arcadia High School in California, providing students with custom healthy juices and smoothies at its new cafeteria.

Robeks owner Robert Kenz says the franchise has been providing juices to area middle schools for several years but this is the first location to offer fresh fruit and vegetable juices made to order.

“As with adults, I believe that once children and adolescents realize that all natural fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies, in every combination imaginable, are really tasty, we can take a really big step toward improving their overall nutrition.”  One medium size Robeks King Kale fresh juice packs 707 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, and 293 percent of recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.    

According to the most recent data from the California Teen Eating, Exercise, and Nutrition Survey (CalTEENS), the most extensive dietary and physical activity assessment of adolescents between 12 and 17 years in California, nearly half of teens said they had not eaten any fruit or salad the day before.

There is growing concern among pediatricians and other professional medical societies that the surge in youth obesity is due as much to what they eat as to how long they sit in front of video games or television. 

“We’re not fighting standard cafeteria food, or even fast food franchises that can be found in many high school food courts around the country,” Kenz says. “But our experience has shown that given a fast alternative that tastes great and provides a solid nutritional boost is converting people all across the country that might otherwise order a milkshake or additive-laced power drink.”

“This is a great example of schools partnering with local businesses to benefit the entire community,” says David Vannasdall, superintendent of the Arcadia Unified School District.

Robeks was founded in 1996 and has 200 locations, with a growing customer base of younger customers.