Elizabeth Dehart is striving to eliminate obesity in the classroom; ideablob’s $10,000 prize will help her start a vending company that provides organic snacks to school kids.

Advanta Corp. announced today that Elizabeth Dehart of West Jordan, Utah, is the July winner of Ideablob.com’s monthly contest for the best small business idea, as voted on by the ideablob community.

Dehart’s venture, Healthy Vending Solutions, seeks to offer children healthy, organic food options by making them available in school vending machines. Her initial goal is for kids to have access to healthy food alternatives in Salt Lake City area schools, and she hopes to expand the healthy vending machine concept to airports and hospitals throughout Utah and beyond.

“Have you ever been somewhere where your food choices were confined to starchy, fatty or sugary foods, when what you really want is a piece of fruit or something healthy?” asked Dehart. “That’s the problem I’m trying to solve. I would love for people – especially kids – to have healthy choices.”

Dehart, the mother of two young children, plans to use the $10,000 prize money to purchase vending machines and locate them in middle and high schools in the Salt Lake City area. She will begin by contacting several organic wholesalers.

“We’re pleased that our latest winner is someone who’s fighting a growing problem affecting so many children in the United States,” said Ami Kassar, Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer. “The ideablob prize money will help launch her project and make a difference in her community and beyond.”

Ideablob.com is a vital online community where tens of thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs actively share business ideas, feedback, advice and support. In addition, experts from various industries take part in weekly ideablob discussions, offering their input on ways that burgeoning entrepreneurs can hone and implement their ideas.

Advanta, one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market, awards a $10,000 monthly prize to the best eligible idea, as determined by the votes of the ideablob community. In recent months, Advanta has awarded the monthly prize to software developers, non-profit leaders and several social entrepreneurs.