In the recent past, Lodi School had 2 vending machines on the lower floor. When brought up, it’s a fast topic for discussion and a commonly asked question is “Why did they take them away?”
In an interview that questioned Vice Principal Mr.Marshall about the topic, he stated that he thought they did more good than harm. He also mentioned his appreciation for students having the ability to get food or a drink when needed. Another point that he brought up was caffeine in the machines. “I do worry about students’ caffeine usage, and vending machines tend to be an easily accessible way for students to overcaffinate here at school” This seems to be a topic nobody has mentioned being a problem yet but an excellent concern.
A conflicting perspective is from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which put out an article last reviewed on May 1st, 2023, that stated a few more problems with these machines. This article called the food in vending machines “competitive food” because of the way they compete in the school’s nutrition plan. A quote from this article states “As of the 2014–2015 school year, all competitive foods and beverages sold during the school day must meet or exceed Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, which include limits on fat, sugar, sodium, and calorie content.”
From a student’s opinion, most miss them. Everybody knows that it is harder to focus when you are hungry and the vending machines give students the ability to get food at any time of day. It is also helpful because you do not have to get help from someone who works in the cafeteria. So on a student’s side, it is full of pros.
Although the vending machines did have flaws, a few times students would report not counting their money after taking it and having to get their money back from the office.
Lodi High School’s food service director agreed to an interview, she had a few things to say about the topic. When asked about why they are no longer in service she stated that a problem currently is that they are broken and the cost to fix them. The snack machine was often taking money and not counting it, which had the school losing more and more money paying for refunds. She stated some more not commonly known facts about them “I am for them but they have a lot of restrictions. For example, they can only have smart snacks in them, and cannot be on during times when food is being served because it would be considered competing foods.”
So with all these pros and cons and facts, there remains a debate about whether we should bring vending machines back to Lodi High School.
