You want your students to develop healthy lifestyle habits so they will go on to be healthy adults. Their choices in snacks and beverages now could impact the rest of their lives. This is why it’s essential to promote healthy snacks while providing access to food at your school.
The Benefits of Having Vending Machines in Schools
When it comes to placing vending machines in schools, statistics show that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. According to one study, most schools surveyed had vending machines, and the type of food options stocked was a good determination of how healthy the students were eating. This means that you can use your campus vending machines to promote health.
Getting a vending machine brings more benefits than just providing healthy food. Here are the four most significant advantages of vending machines in schools:
1. Improving Students’ Focus
Students require enough sleep, water and quality food to stay focused on their schoolwork and classes. Some students lack access to healthy food to keep them feeling full. If you provide them with additional food options, they are less distracted by hunger and can stay focused more easily throughout the day.
They will appreciate having access to quick, healthy snack options when:
- They’re feeling hungry in the mid-afternoon slump.
- They need to eat something after gym class before taking an important exam.
- They lack enough time to eat breakfast and find it challenging to stay focused in the early morning.
- Their home lacks healthy snack options, making it difficult to concentrate on homework.
2. Boosting Employee Morale
Getting a new vending machine can also benefit your teachers and other staff. Healthy vending machine options are good for your employees too. Your staff will appreciate having access to affordable food products during busy times.
When your faculty are happier, they also strive to do their best work, improving your students’ performance and giving your school could have better outcomes. Showing your employees that the administration supports them with this kind gesture is one way to boost their morale and encourage them to prioritize their goals.
Employees that will enjoy the vending machine include:
- Teachers: Your teachers can use a vending machine to get snacks between classes or coffee for grading sessions without having to leave the campus.
- Non-teaching workers: A vending machine could save staff a trip off-campus when someone needs a bottle of water or a coffee to provide the energy for staying caught up on work.
- Guest speakers and substitute teachers: With the right vending machine, temporary staff and paid guests will view your campus as a welcoming place with modern amenities.
3. Easy Access to Healthy Food
The tendency to sell unhealthy snacks and students’ attraction to such items have long been problems with vending machines. Vending machines have a reputation for serving cheap junk food, packs of gum and sodas, but if you stock healthy vending machine snacks, you can make a difference in the eating habits of your school’s students and faculty. Instead of cookies, potato chips and candy bars, stock low-calorie vending machine snack options of high nutritional value.
Healthy snack options for vending machines include:
- Milk
- Nuts
- Yogurt
- Dried fruit
- Veggie fries
- String cheese
- Bottled water
- Protein drinks
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Carrots paired with low-fat dip
- Fruit snacks made with real fruit
Providing these snack and drink items can teach students to eat healthier. It can also help them feel like they are making better choices for their health and putting what they learned in class about healthy eating into action. Fruits and vegetables are especially desirable as snack items for children and teens, and these can feel like luxury items when they are difficult for students to find elsewhere.
4. Providing for Extracurricular Activities
Students who need to stay after school for additional hours have longer days and an increased need for adequate nutrition. They might also have fewer opportunities to get food off campus because of the time constraints of their busy days. Team practice sessions or club meetups make having access to a vending machine that much more important.
Participating in extracurricular activities and special events is fun and rewarding for students, but they can also cause students to feel burnt out, especially if they don’t have access to freshwater or enough time to get an affordable meal. Vending machines offer a modern convenience to students and staff involved in additional activities outside of class. Some of the many advantages for students who participate in your school’s extracurriculars the most actively include:
- Affordable prices: Compared to other options, vending machine food is often the most affordable for students to buy as their own after-school snacks. You can work with local businesses to limit the costs of your vending machine items and stock higher quality snacks than students would find at a convenience store or gas station.
- Additional product options: You can stock other helpful products for students along with the snack options. For example, being able to purchase extra pencils or household sanitary products can be a big help for students preparing to leave on a long field trip.
Vending Machines With American Food & Vending
The first step to ordering vending machines stocked with healthy products is choosing a partner who understands your campus’s needs and can provide what you’re looking for. When you partner with American Food & Vending, you receive the following benefits:
- The most advanced technology: We use VendMAX reporting and tracking software, so we will know when to restock your machines. Our vending machines also conserve energy with Energy Star technology and use energy-efficient LED lights.
- A healthy snack program: We rely on the Amerifit healthy snack program to provide various specially-marked healthy options.
- Dependable services: Our technicians keep your vending machines well-stocked, so your staff can concentrate on their daily responsibilities without doing more work.
- A focus on your goals: Whether you want to include vending machines in your cafeteria, staff break room or school club, we can provide the products and number of vending machines you need.
See the Advantages Yourself With American Food & Vending
Are you looking for a vending machine service for your K-12 or college campus? We can provide the leading brands for healthy snacks and beverages, so your students will stay happy and healthy. Contact us if you are interested in making a valuable change for your institution, whether you are starting out with your first vending machine or you would like to switch to our services.