Help Smart Smoothie Grow and Go!

My name is Kia Smith, and I am a mother of 3, Registered Nurse, Health and Wellness Coach, and the owner of Smart Smoothie; a Smoothie, Clean Eats and Wellness Bar located in Gary, Indiana.

Born and raised in Gary, I take pride in my city and love the people of my community.  Upon completing my degree from Ivy Tech, I began my career in nursing which would span over 16 years of service across multiple specialties in nursing. With a full time commitment to my career in nursing, I still felt unfulfilled and was left with the desire to do more. While I enjoyed nursing, the amount of patients that we serviced daily was disheartening and provided evidence that the need for Health and Wellness education in the community was required.

I began my journey teaching others how to “eat to help heal” themselves. Understanding that there was a huge knowledge deficit in the African American community as it relates to the role of food and how it impacts health, I began Wellness coaching with a strong focus on healthy eating. Through this journey, Smart Smoothie was established in 2019.

Smart Smoothie operates as a brick and mortar inside Gary’s Hudson Campbell Sports Center our goal is to mobilize our business to have a greater reach for those in need and desire of healthy and delicious fast food alternatives .of or  Our products are not limited to delicious and nutritious smoothies, but also, salads, sandwiches, and wraps. Our services include Health and Wellness Coaching, Referrals to Community Resources, and Partnerships with Specialists within Healthcare which bridge the gap between what customers know and what they actually need in regards to their health. As only 1 of 2 smoothie and juice bars within Gary, Indiana, we recognize the need for healthy options, because Gary is deemed a food desert. You can drive for miles and only see unhealthy options in fast food restaurants and grocery stores that don’t always have the freshest produce.

My goal is to educate, empower, and employ my patrons to understand the connection between mind, body, spirit, and food while providing an exceptional customer experience. With that, we are expanding to our food truck, with a desire to partner with our local hospitals, steel mills, and other organizations that will significantly benefit from their employees choosing healthy options.  From personal experience, people want to eat healthy while at work but have limited access to those options. Our goal is to bridge that gap.