Healthy Vending Machines?
I was doing my weekly surfing of trade publications for news, when my eye was caught by a headline: “Healthy Vending Machines Enter Schools.”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Four Tallahassee schools recently tossed out their old “junk food” vending machines in favor of Fresh Healthy Vending machines provided by local businessman Brandon Stallings. The new machines are part of a nationwide effort to combat childhood obesity spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and the “Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.”
…”You’ve got everything from yogurt to 100-percent fruit juices … everything short of a four-course meal,” said Darren Wallace, assistant principal at Griffin Middle School in Tallahassee. “It’s astounding because I didn’t realize there was this much available when it comes to healthy snacks in vending machines. The variety provided by Fresh Healthy Vending is amazing,”
My first thought, naturally, was “great idea!” And it is… in principle. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was tempered somewhat after I clicked on the freshvending.com link in the article, and looked over the snack choices being offered by the company.
It’s a real mixed bag, IMHO. My overall impression is that many of the items aren’t explicitly “healthy” in the sense of making a strong, positive contribution to one’s diet; rather they’re categorized as “healthy” simply because they’re natural/organic/low fat. For example, take Fresh Healthy Vending’s “Snack of the Year”…
San Diego, CA – June 15, 2010 – Fresh Healthy Vending LLC today named popchips as its best selling “snack of the year”. “We are thrilled with the sales of popchips in our healthy vending machines”, said Jolly Backer CEO of Fresh Healthy Vending. “Our school location vending machines often feature several rows of popchips™ and the kids simply cannot get enough of them”, said Backer. popchips are a healthier alternative to the fried (unhealthy) or baked (undelicious) chips currently found in many vending machines.
Ok, let’s take a look at PopChips…
INGREDIENTS: NATURAL POTATO INGREDIENTS (POTATO FLAKES, POTATO STARCH), SAFFLOWER OIL AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL, RICE FLOUR, SEA SALT
Calories: 120
Calories from Fat: 35
Total Fat: 4g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Sodium: 200mg
Total Carbohydrate: 20g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 1g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 2%
Ummm… so PopChips are seasoned potato starch. It’s obvious that they don’t offer much in the way of vitamins, minerals, protein or fiber – so the cals are largely empty ones. The carbs are likely high-glycemic index, too. So what – specifically – makes this a “healthy” snack that will help put a dent in childhood obesity??? By contrast, an ounce of Lay’s potato chips contains 150 calories – a bit higher, but the 30 cals difference isn’t much of a savings. And yes, they are higher in fat (10g vs. 4g), but there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this, IMHO… “low fat” no longer has the allure it once did. Overall, the Lay’s chips are lower in carbs, higher in Vitamin C and – believe it or not – are a more “natural,” less processed product, since they’re made from whole, fresh potatoes, vs. the equivalent of instant mashed potatoes (FYI, the Lay’s Classic ingredient list reads simply: “Potatoes, Sunflower Oil and/or Corn Oil and Salt. No preservatives added).
Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that the Lay’s product is a good, healthy snack – it’s not. It’s simply a point of comparison. Just because something is advertised as “healthy” and is manufactured by a smaller, “alternative” company, doesn’t make it so, in any realistic sense… the “health halo” isn’t real. Calorie-and-nutrition-wise, there’s only a razor’s edge of difference between the two snacks.
This holds for a lot of other of the snacks featured on the site too, I’m afraid. What’s healthy about organic “sandwich cookies,” or Thai Kitchen noodle dishes? What makes Barbara’s Bakery granola bars “healthier” than General Mills’ Nature Valley brand? Even 100% fruit juice/juice drinks aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
Hopefully, school officials are taking a good, hard look at exactly which products are being sold in their school vending machines, and weeding out the more obvious clunkers. But at the moment, I’m not convinced that the new “healthy” vending machine offerings are significantly less obesegenic than the old.
August 19, 2010
Healthy Vending Machines? – http://blog.ultimatefatburner.com/2010/0…
August 20, 2010
I doubt that school officials look into what is in the machines. As always they are just trying to put on a good front to show they are doing what’s right for the children.
Usually kids in general will choose any kind of “chip” over something else. So if these snacks are not much better than “regular” snacks, then nothing is gained.
I don’t know what the answer is, and it may be a step in the right direction, but it still leaves a lot to be desired.IMHO.
August 20, 2010
Problem is, I expect the school district administrators share many of the same misconceptions about what constitutes “healthy” snacking. I seriously doubt that an RD or anyone with real nutrition/health/fitness chops was consulted before the vending decision was made. Even the franchisee – who seems to mean well – might not have a solid understanding… after all he’s a business man, not a dietician.
And – in truth – I expect the admins are trying to walk a fine line: the kids themselves are likely to have pretty firm ideas about snacks, and – ironically – if the snacks are too healthy, they simply won’t be consumed. So perhaps the best solution is to not have vending machines at all… at least until kids can be educated/trained to be more accepting of truly nutritious snacks. Lord knows I got through my K-12 education without their presence, so it’s not as if the kids are going to be severely deprived if the machines are simply removed. If the goal is to fight childhood obesity, after all, then the notion that ad lib snacking is fine as long as it’s “healthy” needs to be revised.
August 20, 2010
Great post! My favorite website for REAL healthy snack ideas is http://www.snack-girl.com/
August 21, 2010
I agree with the “no vending machine”. I think if it’s there the kids will use it. If its not they wont. I too lived through all my school years with no “snack machine” and survived quite well.
Most kids think of snacks as treats. Candy bars or chips etc. If there are no snacks available, possibly healthy or not, it may be a step in the right direction.
May 2, 2011
Kids like the opportunity of buying food at the school. Vending machines gives easy access to food and beverages as an addition to their lunch.But vending machines does not provide healthy food….