SOLANA BEACH - Vending machines, those purveyors of fast food and sugar fixes, are getting a makeover from Solana Beach-based YoNaturals.

Instead of the sugar and caffeine-laden cola drinks, chips, candy and high-fat treats that most vending machines provide, YoNaturals offers Tazo green tea, Pirates Booty snacks, organic milk and nearly 150 other products selected for their health value. That means high fiber and less processed snacks, and USDA-certified organic foods.

Schools are a major market for YoNaturals. There's been a big push for "healthy" foods on campus in recent years, as evidence has mounted that today's children are increasingly obese and prone to obesity-related diseases such as diabetes.

A number of parents, school districts and health professionals have fingered the traditional "junk foods" offered in vending machines, such as sugary cola drinks, chips, candy and high-fat treats, as culprits.

Pacific Ridge School, a new nonprofit college prep school in Carlsbad's Bressi Ranch community, recently installed a YoNaturals vending machine.

"We're just trying to set the stage for kids to think about what they eat and drink and how they can stay healthy," said Eileen Mullady, founding head of the school. "We knew we wanted healthy options on the campus."

Mark Trotter, YoNaturals' chief executive, said the company's target markets include not only schools, but offices, hospitals and health clubs.

However, being healthy is not just a matter of eating the right foods, said Janice Baker, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator in Rancho Bernardo. Baker said it's also important to control how much food is eaten, and to exercise. Baker said she thought well of foods on a YoNaturals list read to her by a reporter.

"I like them a lot better (than traditional vending machine fare) because they are higher in fiber, they have whole grains in them, they're lower in sodium and refined sugars," Baker said. "If people think these are foods to hold their weight, they may be very mistaken, because the calories may be very similar, if not more.

"You can be natural and organic and have healthy ingredients," Baker said, but calories still count. "People drink Hansen's Natural Soda (one of the drinks YoNaturals provides), but I'd still rather see them drinking water."

YoNaturals also provides water.

The company, founded in April 2006, operates on a distributorship model. Independent businesses buy the machines, which cost $8,400 each, and have them installed at locations that agree to host the machines, Trotter said. The average distributor buys about 10 machines and serves one county, Trotter said. The distributors operate in about 200 locations, 25 of which are in San Diego County.

Unlike a franchise, the businesses buying YoNaturals machines operate under their own names and don't have to pay a license fee. The distributors buy the foods from YoNaturals and split the proceeds with the hosting location.

The company now has 26 distributors coast-to-coast. For example, the Loudoun Times-Mirror, a newspaper in Loudoun County, Va., profiled a resident who opened a home-based business called SmartSnacks, placing vending machines stocked with YoNaturals in hospitals, schools and other locations.

Trotter said YoNaturals advises the distributors on how to stock foods for each location. A health club location's vending machine would get more drinks, while one at a hospital would get more meals, Trotter said.

- Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.