Blind vending accounts.

[PHX1]

Hey guys, quick question. (I don't want you to think I'm bashing the blind folks) but I'm curious as to how the that whole program came about and where it started. I see some of the accounts they have and the machines are super old and not stocked very well. With out knowing a whole lot about the program it seems that the effort to help the blind people has put the regular companies at a disadvantage in some situations. Has anyone ever challenged this program? 

[Southeast Treats]

It was established by federal law for federal buildings and federally funded highway rest areas, most states have a similar law for their buildings, and each state runs the program within their state.  Since it only applies to locations the government controls, there's really nothing to challenge.   Those guys get a lot of assistance, but in Florida at least they have a lot of rules and restrictions to follow....

[AngryChris]

I think it works kind of like a co-op. The profits they make go toward the assistance they receive. It's bad for us vendors but I'm happy that someone works for their assistance. I would like to see them do something else though like a call center.

[AZVendor]

This has been stuck in my craw for the past 25 years.  It was started by the Randolph-Sheppard Act in 1936 which was to aid blind peddlers around federal buildings, giving them exclusive rights to sell items on federal property.  The law was amended in 1974 to include all vending and food service in any federal facility.  

Fast forward to the current times and the program is for anyone who is legally blind but can still, to some extent, see,  on down to totally blind individuals.  Most states honor the law leading to state and municipalities following suit.  The program will train an accepted individual in either the food service business or the vending business.  When they complete their training they have to wait for a facility/route to open up or the state will find a new one for them.  The key is that the state will provide them with a business of their own that can support them.

I have worked with them and for them in the past.  While I was vending I competed with them for postal service contracts and when I won those contracts my commissions were given to the blind program.  When I began in the repair field I worked for several blind vendors around Arizona being paid by the State BEP or Business Enterprise Program.  This program is what funnels the federal funds (yes, there are millions in federal funds funneled to the BEP in every state now) to the program.  The funds are used for capitol expenditures and infrastructure.  Each vendor has to pay back to the state 10% of their revenue to pay for repairs on their equipment.  That is all that they pay for repairs.  The state will also pull out of service any machine that has needed more service than they deem cost effective, causing many machines less than 10 years old, regardless of revenue taken, to go to auction.

As an example of your tax dollars at waste, when I held the Postal Service contract and it came up for renewal, the BEP stated that they wanted the vending in one specific building because they felt that one vendor could make a living in that building alone.  We had one bank of 6 machines in one area and 3 in another area.  The BEP took that part of the contract from us and then provided all new machines to the blind operator.  They also forced the Post Office to provide him with a room large enough to store his supplies, desk, cash counting equipment and a commercial freezer and refrigerator. All equipment and the first fill of the machines was paid by the BEP with federal funds.  This building did about $2000 per month at that time and they felt it could support one person income-wise.

The worst part of all of this is how it has now spread to state, county and city governments as their legal teams react to BEP inquiries and demands, with decisions made that they should follow the federal lead.  It doesn't matter to the BEP what the consequences are for the vendor who loses large accounts to them which can sometimes mean route drivers being laid off. 

In my opinion, the handful or people helped by this program in Arizona is way too expensive based on the amount of federal funds spent every year on new equipment.