Advantages And Disadvantages Of School Meal Vending Machines

By Claudine Hodges


Food is a very important factor in helping us achiev and maintain optimum health. Now that our society is flooded with fast food and preservatives, choosing the right set of foods has become more important than ever. The inability to do this is one of the major reasons behind the increased number of obesity cases and heart problems.

Students especially should be very critical in terms of their health. Since they need to juggle their education, family and social life a fully functional health is vital. School meal vending machines are therefore created to make sure that they have access to foods in case they need it anytime of the day. It has helped in some ways, but critics are quick to argue that they are not the best solution. To understand this dynamic, let us check the good and the bad things about these machines.

One good thing is the easy access that it allows. One needs not to go the canteen and line up just to buy some food. With vending machines around, buying one is as easy as saying hi to a friend. This mode is more prefered by students who are in a hurry and just want to get things done.

The bad side will be the limited goods that they offer. Whereas going to a restaurant or going home to cook for yourself will give you more options to choose what to eat, these machines only allows you to choose from the same group of foods every time. There may be changes from time to time but generally, the products are limited.

Second, products found on those machines are safe. Before putting up units inside the campus, there are some healthy regulatory procedures that the school needs to pass. Those functional units have passed the tests and therefore contains food that are safe and free from external contamination.

The disadvantage comes in the variety of foods inside these units. You cannot find a fresh cooked goods in there. They are all stored for quite some time. Baked goods and sodas are among the top picsk. Both are rich in sugar which are not good especially when consumed at high levels.

Third, food from these machines are more affordable. Compared to buying foods on restaurants and food shops, those vending machine products cost lesser. This may be preferable for those students who just wants to eat anything and save money at the same time.

Bad thing is, most of the foods in these units are packed with preservatives. If you want to be healthy, you will refrain from taking in preservatives as much as you can. They may be more affordable. But if it is at the cost of your health, then it is not worth it in the end.

Whether or not you have a healthy body is a matter of decision. You can decide to take what food to eat and what not. Critics about the existence of these machine recommend that they be removed off schools. But since there are a lot of students, who use the service, the appeal may take some time.




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