Vending has received a large amount of press in recent years. An increasing number of school districts.and even some states.are outlawing vending or severely limiting the choice of items available to students. Generally the movement is to not have any vending available in elementary schools and limited vending at upper grades. Worksites and community buildings are also changing in their vending to promote healthier weight.
These changes are being made to help curb the increasing problem of obesity. In South Dakota approximately one third of students are at risk of being overweight or already overweight and approximately two thirds of adults are overweight or obese.
If vending is available, there should be policies about when the machines can be “on”. Some schools will require that all vending operations, both inside and outside of the cafeteria, be made unavailable during regular school meal periods. Or perhaps the vending policy will only have healthy options available during the meal periods.
While vending does provide a significant amount of discretionary income for administrators, schools who have improved their vending by providing healthy choices have not seen a decrease in sales. When kids and adults are thirsty or hungry, they want to eat but need to have options for healthy snacks and beverages. Having healthy options available makes healthy eating an easier choice.