Vending Machines in Schools

Vending machines have revolutionized the way we used to buy goods. You neither have to beat the long queues nor argue with the cashier on the counter over change. Simply drop your money inside the machine and it dispenses your goodies in less than a minute. Vending machines have found their way outside malls, at gas stations and even in schools. However, the use of vending machines in school is highly debatable. In this article, we are going to see a few pros and cons of having vending machines in schools.

Vending Machines in Schools: Pros and Cons

Vending machines are extremely useful, less time-consuming and very convenient to use, even for children. Children often have to spend too much of time in lunch queues. Since the time between classes is too little, kids are often left to eat their lunch hurriedly. Having a vending machine in school can drastically cut the waiting time, so that kids can eat their lunch in peace. Although, most people wouldn't question the efficiency and convenience of a vending machine, the stuff that it dispenses becomes a magnate for debate. Vending machines in schools are expected to dispense healthy and nutrition rich food for children. Parents place their trust on the school and give their kids pocket money in a hope that they will get healthy food at school. However, the current scenario in schools is far from these expectations.

It is unfortunate that most schools station vending machines in their premises as a means for extra funds. They have contracts with vending companies which fetch them millions of dollars a year. According to Health Policy Tracking Service of the National Conference of State Legislature, the schools in the US earn a whopping $100,000 from vending machine contracts every year. These are the companies which sell unhealthy junk items like candies, sodas and other sugary stuff. Since, kids naturally have a liking for these foods they blow away their pocket money on the junk dispensed from these machines. The artificial flavoring agents, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and preservatives contained in these foods are extremely detrimental to the health of children. Unhealthy vending machines in schools are becoming a cause for various illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc. in children.

In the absence of fair and concrete policies for vending machines in schools, the business of junk food companies keeps on swelling. When given a choice, children are always going to choose unhealthy junk over healthy food. However, it is the duty of schools to block access to unhealthy stuff by making only healthy food available through their vending machines. Thankfully, some schools in the US have waken up to the hazards of junk food dispensing vending machines. As a result, they now have healthy vending machines in schools which only dispense nutritious foods like yogurt, pita chips, soy nuts, string cheese, carrots with dips, dried fruits, flavored milk etc.

Another view to this debate is that most schools which allow vending machines are low on funds. They barely have funds to cover the expenses for running school. Such schools may find the prospect of earning millions of dollars through vending machine business highly lucrative. However, the authorities of these schools should let their conscience prevail so as not to threaten the health of their students. Endangering the health of kids for gaining more funds (albeit for the betterment of school) is not acceptable.

Thankfully, all is not lost, as measures are being taken at Government level to reauthorize the Childhood Nutrition Act. The provisions of this act will possibly ensure that only healthy food is provided through vending machines in schools, thus parents can heave a sigh of relief!