The Mid-Michigan Beverage Consortium is a group of 47 districts that have combined their purchasing power to get the best possible beverage contract for their schools. After an extensive proposal process, The Mid-Michigan Beverage Consortium agreed to a seven year agreement with Pepsi-Cola to sell beverages in the participating schools. A prior contract negotiated by the Mid-Michigan Beverage Consortium, expired on June 30, 2007. The current contract began on July 1, 2007 and will continue through July 1, 2014.

Members of the Mid-Michigan Beverage Consortium will benefit from product rebates and sales commissions. They will also share, on a per pupil basis, access fees for participating in the program. The agreement, reached with Pepsi, offers participating schools the ability to make local decisions based on their needs. For example, districts will be able to decide the number of vending machines in each building, and their location and hours of operation, along with determining the types of beverages available.

Products sold in the schools to the student population must meet the guidelines set by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which is backed by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. These guidelines will serve as a minimum benchmark but may be exceeded by an individual school's wellness policy should it be more conservative. These measures are in response to the need to address national obesity-related concerns for our youth by reducing container size, sugar content, and calories per serving.

• The Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Pepsi's school beverage guidelines

Participating school districts can be contacted for more information on their specific wellness policy.

If you would like more information on the Mid-Michigan Beverage Consortium, please contact Jamie Rutter-Danley at jdanley@inghamisd.org.