Would you like a snack from the vending machine? Options include: zero sugar, low carb, no fat, and reduced calorie. Not a single beverage over five calories or a candy bar in sight.
Unsurprisingly, the availability of healthy snack options in school vending machines aims to improve teen health. Students can feel free to eat as much junk food as they want at home, but the school has a bit of control over snacking for seven hours a day. It is well known that unhealthy food contributes to obesity, the rate of which has risen in U.S adolescents over the past few decades. According to the National Institute of Health, student access to high-fat, salty snacks contributes to excessive sodium intake, which can cause hypertension as well as an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Saturated fats contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease, and added sugar contributes to excessive calorie intake that causes weight gain.
Nutritional standards are legally required for lunches in public schools, so do the same rules apply to vending machines? Technically, yes. Virginia law requires that prepackaged snacks have no more than 200 calories and 200 milligrams of sodium. However, the rules on beverages are much more lenient, and our vending machines generally have even healthier options than legally required.
Senior Bella Dunn almost never uses the vending machines. She prefers buying snacks from the morning coffee cart, claiming that the health-centered machine options are not as enticing.
“There’s not really anything worth buying,” said Dunn. “As teenagers, I don’t think that the school should be controlling what we eat so much. We’re old enough to spend our money on food we actually want and make healthy choices for ourselves. ”
Collaborations with vending companies could be a potential explanation for our excessively healthy options. One of the three snack vending machines in the commons sticks out due to its colorful design and high-tech appearance. Along the side reads, “Healthy Vending by HUMAN.” According to the HealthyYOUVending blog, the company partners with schools and only sells snack items that adhere to strict health guidelines. However, students have noticed some obesity-inducing selections in other local high schools.
At First Colonial High School, options including Skittles, Snickers, and honey buns can be found in the vending machines. Plenty of the options in these machines violate the Virginia law for prepackaged snacks, so how is First Colonial bending the rules? They actually aren’t at all, because they found a unique way around them. The vending machines at FC are closed during the day, opening to students at 2PM once classes are over. The vending laws only apply to prepackaged foods that are sold during school hours, so they can sell whatever snacks they want after school hours.
First Colonial junior Hailey Ross has access to these snacks, but is not a fan of the time restriction.
“Our vending machines aren’t even open during the day, so it’s good if you have a sport or other activity after school, but other than that they are kind of useless,” said Ross.
As a student athlete, she is able to purchase snacks and drinks more often than many of her peers who go home as soon as the machines open for the afternoon. Her favorite items include honey buns, barbeque chips, and Dr. Pepper, but she is unsure of whether the open variety of unhealthy food is worth the long wait. Salem students may not have access to snacks like candy and cookies, but the compensation for this sacrifice is the ability to make purchases whenever hunger strikes.
While some students are disappointed by the lack of unhealthy snacks in our machines, a consistent need for restocking is proof that many still make regular purchases. It may take some adjustment to get used to the low-fat version of items like popular name-brand chips, but any snack can grow to be delicious in the case of hungry teenagers.
The next time you visit the vending machines in the commons, be sure to take note of the nutritional value of your options. Try not to stress too much, as you have no choice but to pick something that is somewhat healthy.
