Adding vending machines with different food options could have some benefits. Rio Norte could add healthier snack options that kids still like, such as pop chips or kettle brand chips. Pretzels or dried fruit could also be an option. Healthy drink options could be sparkling water brands like Spindrift, Bubly, or La Croix. Some sweeter drinks like Gatorade or Powerade could also be a good option.
There are also many other benefits like if a kid forgot his snack or lunch he/she could always go to the vending machine to buy a healthier snack. Vending machines with other food options could also help raise money for the school. It could also teach kids wise spending habits because if they continuously buy the food options they will start to run out of money so they will have to buy the food less often.
Mrs. August stated, “There are specific laws that don’t allow us to sell certain foods.” So schools are not allowed to sell food to kids, that is why the Soar Store uses Soar bucks to allow us to get the foods that they have. To get different foods we would have to find a vendor that sells school approved food. She also says, “We can’t even sell Gatorade.” So it looks like unless Rio finds a vendor that has school approved food, we will only have water in our vending machines.
There could also be some down sides. One down side could be that students might crowd the vending machines if there are new items and would make them go out of stock quickly. This may create mobs around the vending machines, and kids may break vending machines. This could also be more work for the custodians, since there will be more trash for them to clean up.