Nutrition: School Wellness
Vending
The Center for Science in the Public Interest conducted a study of 1,420 vending machines in 251 schools across 24 states. They discovered that the vending machine options were similar across all states.
Here are some of their findings:
- 70 % of the beverages were sweetened with sugar (soda, juice drinks, ice tea, and sports drinks)
- 86% of the soda slots were regular sugar-sweetened drinks while 14% were diet
- 5% of beverages were milk and of that 57% was whole or 2%
- The most common snack items were candy (42%), chips (25%), and sweetened baked goods (13%)
- Less than 1% of the slots contained a fruit or vegetable
- Less than 7% of the slots contained real fruit juice
- School environments can reinforce nutrition education messages by limiting access to high energy-dense snack foods and sugar sweetened beverages.
For more information:
- Nutritious School Vending, A step by Step Guide– Colorado Department of Education http://www.cde.state.co.us
/cdenutritran/download/pdf/VendingGuide.pdf
- Healthy School Food – Elkhart Childhood Obesity Initiative, suggestions for beverages, vending, concessions, ala carte, fundraisers, and rewards
http://elkhart.k12.in.us/2_parents
/downloads/foodbrochureEnglish.pdf
- Wisconsin Action for Healthy Kids – Guide to Healthy school Stores and Vending Machines http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/pdf/neschvend.pdf
- Dollars and Sense: The Financial Impact of Selling Healthier School Foods, UC Berkeley http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/cwh/PDFs
/Dollars_and_Sense_FINAL_3.07.pdf