Vending machines can be found lining the hallways of almost every school in town. These machines are always kept well-stocked with enticing snacks like crunchy chips and delicious candy bars in shiny packages. There’s is no question that teenage students get the munchies and resort to inserting all their small change into these machines in exchange for empty calories of processed sugars. It’s just too convenient and enticing for anyone to pass up.
Shereen Jegtvig, a Arnold O. Beckman High School freshman said, “Even with a great breakfast and a healthy lunch, an after-school snack is nice to refuel before play or study time.” While any convenient snack that drops out of a machine can be nice, few will disagree that these products are simply an unhealthy choice.
Many students have been depending on these vending machine snacks as a meal replacement as they consider the lunch lines too long and nearly impossible to stand through with a limited lunch period. “I just insert my money and out comes my snack,” said Julie Zhang, a sophomore at Beckman High. “If I wait in the lunch line, it takes around 5-10 minutes to actually buy something. Vending machines are much faster.” For academically stressed students who constantly move on a bell schedule, being health conscious may be the last thing on their minds.
Teenagers, like most westernized human beings, enjoy snacks based mainly on taste and texture. Megan Francisco, a junior at Beckman High said, “My friends and I buy chips everyday. I crave chips, I never really crave fruits or vegetables. Chips just taste so good.” The average school year consists of 180 days and a bag of plain potato chips contains about 150 calories in a 27 gram bag. With daily consumption, that calculates to 27,000 empty and unnecessary calories per school year.
Students are constantly making choices throughout the day. If school administrators intentionally offer poor choices, they have to assume that students will make them. Some schools have realized how popular and even lucrative these unhealthful vending machines have been. And those that are concerned have replaced the types of snacks with relatively more healthful snacks. Nonetheless, the calorie counts and the nutritional facts of new products are still very comparable to previous selections.
In regards to academics or social events, negative opportunities would not be offered nor marketed in a convenient manner. As the United States struggles to deal with obesity rates and adolescent diabetes, school officials may want to reconsider the choices and systems they offer in the lunchroom.
