Make A Change, Keep The Change

Make A Change, Keep The Change

In recent years, the nutritional value of snacks provided in vending machines in our nation’s schools has been challenged. If a student were to go to one of the two vending machines campus here at FHS, he or she would find snacks such as Lay’s potato chips, Cheetos, Honey Buns, etc. Though these snacks may be tasty, the amounts of saturated sugar and sodium they contain can be detrimental to student health.

In a study done by the Gallup Youth Survey of 785 respondents, ages 13 to 17, 75% of the teens who describe themselves as overweight say they buy junk food or soda at school, compared with 65% of those who feel that they are about right or underweight.

Considering these findings, one may ask what is being done to change the content of school vending machines. The USDA announced that soon, schools across the country must provide snacks low in fat, sodium and salt in vending machines. The federal agency’s standards were required by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, passed in 2010, and limit vending machine snacks to 200 calories per item, and sodas and sports drinks sold in high schools to 60 calories or less in a 12-ounce serving.

“I purchase food from the vending machine almost every day, being a basketball player, it would be great to have healthier options to choose from,” Junior Bianca Igwe said.

These new regulations will most likely result in the ratification of vending machine placement in schools across America. Believe it or not, some schools have already gotten an early start on implementing healthier snacks in their vending machines. Vending machine companies such as H.U.M.A.N Healthy Vending have made their way into many schools, gyms, and work places across the country. H.U.M.A.N machines provide buyers with healthy and organic options in food and drinks such as Pirates Booty and POP Chips, which are both tasty and high in nutrition.