Vending machines are a necessary addition to schools. They provide students access to healthy drinks and nutritional snacks. It helps encourage healthy dieting for students. A student can’t concentrate during class if they’re hungry, so it is an easy access for students to grab a snack before and after class. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides guidelines of healthy foods that should be in school vending machines.
Vending machines help students finish off the school day with a boost. Making healthier food options can improve brain function and development, focus, and memory skills. Healthy snacks sustain energy and prevent sugar crashes that occur when kids are provided with only snacks containing sugars. Athletes can gain more energy after school before practicing by being provided with easy access to snacks and drinks.
Mattox Schweitzer, a student at Osborne High School, says “We should have vending machines in schools because it provides monetary value to the school.” He believes the vending machines should be limited to healthy snacks and drinks, and that they should exclude energy drinks and soda from being sold. Things he would like to see in vending machines are Propel waters and chips.
Jerilee Nipe, English teacher of Osborne High school, also agrees we should have vending machines available to staff and students. She also believes there should be a limit on what the vending machines have to offer. “You want to provide students snacks and drinks that will be beneficial for their bodies and performance, not something that might inhibit their performance.” When asked which snacks she would prefer in a vending machine, she said granola bars, dried fruits / trail mix, crackers, and juices.
Having healthy snacks and drinks available to students will boost their performance during the day. It gives an extra option to students who sometimes don't have time to make breakfast in the morning or who can't grab a quick snack before school. The machines would be accessible throughout the whole day, meaning anyone who stops by can get a quick refresher before heading back to class.
