Imagine yourself in need of a snack during nutrition or lunch.  You just finished playing at lunch in need for some food, you didn’t go before because of the long lines, you go to the lunch line later when there’s nothing left but the soggy chicken sandwiches. The perfect solution to the problem is having vending machines at school.      

Lunch lines take up most of your lunch when just standing in the line.  Vending machines don’t. When the fourth or fifth period bell rings, often students run to the lunch line to get a good spot in line, most of the time being yelled at for running there.  Having more availability to get food would shorten lines and lessen anxiety.  

According to the Genius Types website, vending machines often have no cost because they are installed, stocked, and maintained by separate companies.  There is a cost is given when the school has to fill it up with snacks or beverages for the students.  An average profit from the vending machines per month is $25, which might not seem like a lot.  However, schools have potential for high volume sales, and our school could have many vending machines, multiplying the profits.  

Vending machines are helpful to the school because you can stock it with any type of snack according to the policy’s rules for foods or vending machines.  This can help raise money for the school to make it a better environment for the students.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the school policy on vending machines in general is “All snacks and vending machine foods must be either a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, a protein food, whole-grain-rich or a combination food that includes at least a quarter cup of fruits or vegetables,” as stated on http://blogs.edweek.org.  The calories in the snacks are limited as well, “Any snack or side dish would be limited to 200 calories.”  Again, this is not advocating junk food, it is advocating options for limiting lines and increasing productivity.  

Vending machines were in fact here once at school over 4 years ago on campus.  The question of why it was removed still is a question to be solved.  The vending machines were actually quite ironic because it read, Choices, Choices on the machine when the only option was water in the vending machines.   Mr. Casper, the school principal, says, “We can sell flavored water or Gatorade.”  

The vending machines can be stocked with snacks and drinks that students prefer more than the school lunch.  Vending machines are also helpful because if the student isn’t that hungry they can go to the vending machines and get a little snack instead of getting lunch and end up throwing away the food that you don’t want.  

For example, if students are still hungry after they have already gotten lunch, they aren’t allowed to go back to get another lunch, but vending machines could be available 24/7 at school.  This also applies to students who stay after school; the student store isn’t open all day after school, so if you were in need of snacks the vending machines are still there and available.

Vending machines could be an easy, profitable solution to a problem that has long plagued our campus.