vending.com blog - Why Vending Machines Should Be Allowed in Schools

Why Vending Machines Should Be Allowed in Schools

Students don’t always have enough time to have a balanced breakfast or lunch at home or during the school day. This is just one of the reasons why vending machines should be allowed in schools. Luckily, vending machines from Vending.com provide a quick option for a needed snack. Plus, providing healthy and nutritious options may be the only way some students are getting the right nutrition throughout the day. Students and teachers may receive nourishment from snack vending machines by purchasing their favorite snacks in the middle of the day.

The benefits of vending machines may provide a unique element to your school or organization with innovative, low maintenance vending solutions readily available. Convenience and accessibility are the key benefits of vending machines. Choose customized vending machines from a reliable provider like Vending.com that offers food, snacks, or combo machines. For a healthier lifestyle, choosing more healthy alternatives is a must, along with options and selections that are unique for your students and staff. It helps users save both time and money. The icing on the cake is that there are no hidden costs.

How beneficial are vending machines in schools? This is a topic that has sparked several debates throughout the years. We know that some people favor the concept while others are against it. For instance, parents are nervous that their children may engage in harmful eating habits. Most people believe that vending machines exclusively sell high-fat and high-sugar foods. This isn’t the case, according to a CBS News report. According to the findings, the United States government issued a mandate through the Department of Agriculture requiring vending machines to offer healthy, smart snacks rather than junk food. Since the regulation was issued, Frozen Food Vending Machines have provided healthier options. 

  1. Vending Machines Provide Nutritious Food: Some vending machines could sell gum, candy bars, potato chips, cookies, and other products liked by children. Schools may choose the 40 Selection Snack Vending Machine from Vending.com that has a high-capacity to accommodate multiple nutritional foods, such as string e, carrots with hummus, dried fruit, milk, yogurt, veggie fries, and more. This can provide a healthy diet for kids and therefore improve each student’s learning environment. Fresh fruits and vegetables available as snacks in schools is believed to go a long way toward building a healthy school food environment and improving nutrition that will impact the rest of their lives.
  2. Promotes Healthier Eating Habits Among Students: Consuming low-quality foods every day might lead to a lack of learning chances, but so can hunger. If a student is more concerned with the fact that their stomach is growling than with the points in the classroom, their grades will suffer over time. One of the benefits of vending machines in schools is that they allow students to satisfy their food cravings while keeping their attention on teachers and classes. Affordable pricing is crucial, so many schools either engage with local vending services to reduce expenses or acquire the necessary equipment themselves. Schools may also procure affordable used vending machines that are certified from Vending.com.
  3. Vending Equipment For Non-Food Applications: The discussion about vending machines in schools frequently revolves around the quality of the food accessible to students. Today, supply dispensers may be utilized for many purposes, such as providing students with pencils, pens and notebooks to ensure they don’t skip a beat in the classroom. Everyone profits when the school population has high levels of satisfaction. Vending machines increase the school’s revenue while providing students and their parents or guardians with access to the products they need for a successful school day.
  4. Equipment Increases Employee Satisfaction: When students and faculty on the school campus are happy and healthy, the results in each classroom are increased. Multi-purpose vending machines ensure that everyone’s fundamental requirements are met is a slight but significant morale booster that should not be overlooked. People who have easy access to products they desire or feel personally cared for make them comfortable. Also, they are delighted when they witness that their objectives are a priority and the administration is striving to help them in various ways.

Final Thoughts

In being allowed in schools, vending machines can provide students with almost everything they want and should have in a healthy and organized manner. It offers a variety of food and product options that assist students and staff in being focused and productive in their academics. Now that we’ve heard about the numerous benefits of placing vending machines in schools, it’s time to act. Contact Vending.com today to add a new vending machine to your school campus. You can assure that children consume fresh and nutritious food without compromising quality. Call Vending.com at 1-800-548-1982

The Magic of a Literary Vending Machine

As an educator, one encourages children to let their minds run wild and exercise their creative minds. And, being creative allowed the students and educators of Northeast Elementary School in Owasso, Oklahoma to think outside of the box when it comes to vending machines and rewards systems. 

Amanda Sordo, the school’s librarian, saw an idea from a neighboring school in which books are used in vending machines, as opposed to snacks.  The idea behind this book vending machine was to provide a reward for students who have done an act of kindness for another student within the school. Sordo says, “This vending machine gives kids an opportunity to recognize other kids for the goodness they see in them. Kids write notes, which are put in a box, and then I am drawing ten names a day to give kids free books.” 

From there, students receive tokens to vend a book from the vending machine. This way, kids can build their at-home library by simply performing a good deed. 

The book vending machine builds excitement for the kids when it comes to reading, but it does so much more than that. Sordo goes on to say, “These kids are reading the good things that people see in them. It’s building morale, lowering bullying and it’s getting kids to read books. It’s an all-around good thing.”

When it came to the exterior design of the book vending machine, one thing was for certain. It had to be customizable to include artwork that was provided by the kids themselves “It was really important for the kids to have a big part in the design process,” Sordo says. “None of the other schools are even thinking to use the kids’ artwork like that. It turned out a lot better than I expected.” 

The students played a huge role in the book vending machine. A fundraiser was held in which they received more than enough to purchase the vending machine. Additionally, the students of Northeast Elementary School submitted artwork in the schoolwide contest. This artwork was then taken to social media, where people could vote for the top three designs. 

The word of the book vending machine quickly spread across Oklahoma by way of social media, local news outlets and various email communications. This has led to other schools in the area considering installing a book vending machine. If anyone is looking for advice on how to go about installing a book vending machine, Sordo offers a couple of tips. One is to be aware that one of the most challenging aspects of the machine is stocking it with books that will appeal to a wide range of students, including picture books and chapter books. The other piece of advice Sordo offers is to hold a fundraiser in order to involve the students. 

When asked about the process of working with Vending.com, Sordo says it was easy and accommodating. All of the questions were answered quickly and Vending.com worked quickly. The process to add the artwork to the book vending machine was also a simple task. When setting up the machine, we ran into a few issues. I worked with Vendnet, Vending.com’s service group, to get it set up. They were very helpful and made the process easier.

Thinking outside the box when it comes to rewarding students for their good deeds is so important. Amanda Sordo and the staff at Northeast Elementary School were able to accomplish just that. With the help of Vending.com, they are able to provide students with books, while building character.

Vending.com can help you think outside of the box when it comes to vending a variety of needs. For questions, contact Todd Carber at (515) 271-8384 or tcarber@vending.com.

How Are Millennials Driving the Vending Industry?

How Are Millennials Driving the Vending Industry?

Millennials, those coming into adulthood in the year 2000 and after, are driving the market across many industries including housing, technology, marketing, and even vending machine industry trends. As this group reaches maturity and have more disposable income, everyone is taking notice of how to market and sell to this demographic.

What Do Millennials Look for in Snack Vending Machines?

  • This generation has grown up with technology. Vending machines that provide fresh, affordable snack and beverage options at a touch of a button appeal to them.
  • The younger generations are more in tune with the impact that sugary sodas and snacks have on obesity and health causing the health market to be the fastest growing channel in vending machine industry trends.
  • Millennials rarely carry cash and prefer cashless options like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and credit or debit cards; however, for low-cost transactions the probability of any consumer paying cash rises. A market savvy vending machine manufacturer will provide both cashless payment options as well as cash options that accept a wide range of bills and coins.
  • Providing mobile payment options also influences where operators place their machines. To complete a wireless transaction, consumers must have access to a clear cell signal, so locations such as basements where cell signals are at their worst are becoming less than ideal.

How Does This Change the Vending Industry?

Because the vending machine market is large, change will take time. Millennials are the perfect demographic for the vending market. They expect self-checkout options and as vending machine operators gather more data, micro-markets are expected to emerge.

The technology that serves the millennial generation so well is also helping the vending industry cater to them. Market analysts are beginning to predict a customer’s future possible purchases based on their past purchases. This data will help vending machine owners group products in a single machine that will encourage larger or repeat purchases from the same customer.

The convenience provided by technology also benefits machine owners. As owners provide machines that have wireless connectivity to allow cashless purchases for their customers, owners find that the same connectivity allows them to check machine inventory remotely. By knowing the machine’s inventory ahead of time, owners save precious time and money in restocking efforts.

As the nation’s leading vending machine provider, Vending.com sells and services snack and drink vending machines across the United States. Contact us at 855-712-8781 to see how we can assist you with your vending business.