School Vending Machines: 3 Ways to Have Healthy Vending Machines at Your School
School vending machines kill
Childhood obesity is through the roof in this country. We can point to a number of reasons, including the outrageous advertising budgets of fast food restaurants and candy companies. We can also blame the lack of basic nutrition education that allows children to know what foods are bad for them and will turn them into obese and unhealthy adolescents and adults. But one of the main culprits is an inanimate object found in schools every day. The vending machine. These machines stay on throughout the day enticing kids to buy junk before school (chocolate bar for breakfast, anyone?), between classes and even for lunch (a can of soda, chips and other chocolate bar are considered a meal?). Children are storing fat due to a constantly available source of sugar, fat, and simple carbohydrates. What should parents and schools do to cut the link between students and their junk food snacks? The answer is simple: school vending machines.
You might wonder how, in this world of cutbacks and lower budgets, schools can afford to make this change. The sad truth is that schools get much-needed money from their school vending machines. And if these machines are simply removed, schools would suffer revenue losses that could force them to reduce supplies and programs for students. The good news is that healthy vending machines generate just as much, if not more, revenue for schools than old junk food vending machines. Replacing a standard machine full of junk food with a healthy vending machine is simple. In fact, schools have several options for putting these machines in front of their students.
1. Let healthy vending machine operators come to your school
Once you’ve made the decision to make your school a healthier environment for your students, you may choose to lease a healthy vending machine. This option is less expensive than buying a machine, and healthy vending operators will do all the work. They will set up the machine, stock it with healthy food and beverages, monitor its operation, replenish it when necessary, and take care of any maintenance issues. They will charge a small fee, but you keep most of the profits to go towards school supplies and programs.
2. Buy and operate your own machines
If your school is capable, you should definitely consider purchasing a healthy vending machine and operating it yourself. Or maybe you’ve rented a machine for a while and are ready to do the job on your own and make more profit. Either way, this option will take you a bit longer, but the benefits are worth it. When you buy a healthy vending machine, it is delivered to your location and with the help of some training videos and great customer support, your school can set it up and you will stock it yourself. Its remote monitoring software allows operators to see what is happening with a machine at any time and from anywhere. You’ll know when an item needs to be restocked or if there’s a problem with a sale. For this little extra work, your school can earn a significant income.
3. Establish a youth entrepreneurship program where students operate the machines
Since healthy vending machines are actually small, self-contained businesses, what better way to teach kids business fundamentals than to let them operate the machine themselves? Basic concepts like supply and demand, profit and cost, and how to work with money can all be taught with the help of a machine. This option is perfect for high school business classes or clubs for young entrepreneurs. Let them set up the machine, store it, monitor it, restock it and promote it. Each machine comes with a programmable LCD screen. Let your students decide what should appear on the screen. You could display school ads, nutritional information on vending machines, or even sell advertising and take advantage of the secondary stream of income from healthy vending machines.
There are many ways to bring these healthy machines to your schools. Whether you choose to buy or rent, operate yourself, or let your students do the work and learn valuable concepts, there’s no excuse to keep your junk food machines around longer. Kids can have access to fruit, trail mix, chips, and protein bars instead of donuts, honey buns, greasy potato chips, and chocolate bars. They may receive a bottle of green tea or a carton of organic chocolate milk in lieu of a can of soda between classes. Giving students healthier options will not only make them feel better throughout the day, it will also help them learn better and perform better on tests. Healthy children become healthy adults. And healthy vending machines can be the first step to your success.
