During the past few months, Grand Valley State University has been one of the first schools in the country to try out a new vending machine aimed at making it easier than ever to choose healthier snacks and drinks.
In the pilot program, the university agreed to replace four older vending machines with four new ones stocked not only with a wide selection of more nutritional choices but with an interactive built-in LCD monitor that flashes information about the nutritional content, such as the number of calories, before a selection is made, says Andy Beachnau, the university's director of housing and food service.
The message to students and staff is to dump the junk and choose healthier, more nutritious foods, he says. Instead of munching high-calorie, fatty potato chips or candy, buyers can choose crunchy apple crisps or oatmeal cookies sweetened with applesauce instead of sugar.
Beachnau says university officials agreed to the replacements after they were approached with the proposal several months ago by two GVSU graduates, Aaron and Heather Huber of Hudsonville. As new owners of Vavin Vending in Hudsonville, the couple asked the university to try out the new Helping Unite Man and Nutrition Vending Machine, called H.U.M.A.N machine for short, that were introduced last year by a California-based company called Healthy Vending.
According to Healthy Vending's website, the company boasts that it can provide a customized product mix of bars, snacks, beverages, supplements and fresh and hot foods. Think of energy or diet bars, trail mix, organic granola, soy milk, protein shakes and multi-vitamin packs.
Unlike "old" machines, the H.U.M.A.N machines a feature touch-screen LCD, streaming video content, a cashless payment system because they accept credit cards, an eco-friendly power device and attractive graphics.
Beachnau said the university made the change because the move was in line with campus-wide sustainability and wellness goals.
So far the student and staff reaction has been "pretty positive," Beachnau says. "Whether they choose the products are not, they support the message of eating healthier. We're still experimenting with it."
In March, university officials will evaluate the popularity of the foods and snacks to determine whether a different product mix might help sales."If these machines are successful, it's our hope to put them in other high-traffic areas next fall in Allendale and eventually in our downtown campus," Beachnau says.
Sources: Andy Beachnau, Grand Valley State University Director of Housing and Food Services; Healthy Vending website
Sharon Hanks is editor of innovation and jobs news at Rapid Growth Media. She can be reached at [email protected]
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.