Today, many celebrities and politicians focus on childhood obesity and healthy living. Many don’t realized, however, that people like Darius Bikoff have been focusing on children’s health for years. The entrepreneur and founder of the Vitaminwater empire began to sponsor Vitaminschool in 2006. This is a national cooking contest for teenagers.
Married to Jill Bikoff and an avid sports enthusiast, Bikoff attended a food-services trade convention aimed at the school-lunch market. He was “appalled that not a single thing was fresh,” as he told Houston Chronicle writer Kimberly Stauffer. He said that all of the foods were “all processed and fried and fatty. I walked away thinking, ‘I’ll never eat this stuff. I wouldn’t let my daughter eat it.'”
Thus, the Vitaminschool program was born and it allowed students to compete for cash prizes to their schools to improve lunchtime menus. In 2006, Vitaminschool awarded a $100k college scholarship courtesy of glaceau to Stephanie Wheeler, a junior at the Woodlands Christian Academy in Houston, Texas. The award was given in Union Square in New York City by Kelly Clarkson.