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Waiakea High School

Hilo, Hawaii

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Categories Adopt marketing techniques to promote healthful choices; Make more healthful foods and beverages available
Problem Overview
  • 1,290 students, on the Big Island of Hawaii
  • 26 percent of students eligible for free and reduced-price school meals
Program/Activity Description Since 1999, the Healthy Hawai’i Initiative has promoted health awareness through radio, television, and print media with the Start.Living.Healthy campaign. Students in Waiakea High’s marketing class developed the school-based Start.Living. Healthy program, which was led by students, advised by a teacher, and supported by community business partnerships.

In June 2000, the marketing class worked with a local businessman to develop a campaign to raise awareness of the long-term effects of poor eating habits. A local dairy company donated a vending machine that could dispense milk, water, and juice. In October 2001, the program expanded to include healthier foods, when Sheri Kojima, the marketing class teacher, and the food company negotiated prices on food items to be sold in the student-run store.

The students focused their efforts on marketing their products. As part of the class, the students were responsible for the maintenance of the vending machine, thereby developing their skills in purchasing, pricing, financing, and promoting products. Their promotional efforts featured flyers, school-wide PA announcements, bulletins, advertisements, school newspaper articles, and banners.

With the financial support of a local businessman, the students produced television commercials and radio announcements. They recorded a song, Who Let the Cows Out, Moo, Moo, Moo, Moo-Moo, which was broadcast on local radio to promote milk consumption. A commercial was created to promote the purchase and consumption of water. The project received substantial attention from State and local newspapers that highlighted the students’ efforts to offer healthier alternatives to soft drinks.

The marketing class developed two additional campaigns to promote healthy lifestyle choices:

-An annual Dare to Drink Milk tug-of-war competition encourages teamwork, strong bones, and physical strength. Participants receive free milk and the name of the winning class is engraved on Waiakea High School’s Perpetual Cow trophy.

-EAT LUNCH and WIN BIG promotes eating school lunch. Students who eat the lunch in the school cafeteria are eligible to participate in a raffle, and the winners receive gift certificates for local shopping centers and supermarkets. The business community has actively supported the program with prize donations.
Program/Activity Outcome
  • As part of Waiakea High School’s Start.Living.Healthy program, students in a marketing class developed a program to offer healthier food and beverage choices.
  • A local company donated a machine to vend flavored and low-fat milks, bottled water, passion-orange guava fruit juice, and 100% orange juice. As the owner of the machine, the student store was responsible for marketing and selling the products and for managing its finances and product stock.
  • Through a partnership with a local food company, the class negotiated lower prices on food options to be sold in the student-managed store. Products included healthier items such as cereal cups, low-fat frozen meals, breakfast bars, and lower fat, lower calorie microwavable meals.
  • Students created flyers, school-wide PA announcements, school newspaper articles and ads, banners, and commercials to market the water and milk products sold in their vending machine. The commercials have aired on local television and radio stations.
  • Since the introduction of the milk/juice/water machine, sales in the student store have gradually increased and now equal one to two cases per day.
  • Students are more aware of the importance of health as a result of this program. As part of the marketing class, students developed skills in teamwork, market research, planning, purchasing, and pricing through their management of the student store.
Story Highlights Keys to Success:
  • Student involvement: Energetic and enthusiastic students enrolled in the high school marketing class
  • Community support: Support from local businesses and school administration
  • Strategic planning: Long hours of planning and long-term commitment
Future Plans:
  • Promote the project to statewide media to highlight the program and encourage other schools to participate in health projects.
  • Continue selling milk, juice, and water on campus.
Words of Wisdom "When you make learning fun, students are eager, enthusiastic, and willing to do ANYTHING! Build partnerships in the community; they are a crucial part of your success. Planning and commitment are the keys to a successful program. Keep smiling, even when things don’t work out the way you plan, since we are ALWAYS LEARNING!" — Sheri S. Kojima, Marketing Instructor/DECA advisor
Program Contact Sheri Kojima


Page last reviewed: February 27, 2013
Page last updated: February 27, 2013
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