School vending machines have always been filled with the candy, cookies, chips and soda that most parents would never pack into their children’s lunches. Over the last couple of last years, schools have started to take action and promote healthier options in on-campus vending machines. Some states have already begun contacting food companies and finding alternate options for the fattening snacks in school vending machines.
On Jan. 30, the Dole Food Company Inc. began its own initiative to start a program that will place healthier snacks in a school’s vending machine. Dole's machines will be stocked with fresh fruit, fruit bowls, salads, sandwich wraps and milk. The salads and sandwiches will be prepared fresh at a nearby cafeteria. Will this really make kids healthier, or will they just go home and eat these snacks anyway? Obviously, Dole feels like it’s worth a try. The machines will be launched in 15 schools in four states:
Is it fair to force feed children healthy foods? Is it really the responsibility of the school to eliminate soda and junk food from on-campus vending machines? I don’t believe that it is the school’s responsibility to worry about the health of its students; however, this is a great start, since child obesity is on the rise. Dole is on the right track to creating a healthier world.
1 comment:
I think that Dole is doing a smart thing here. Children do eat a lot of unhealthy foods, and cafeteria food that is available to them in schools is often not healthy and nutritious. By offering salads and fruit, hopefully the children will be enouraged by their parents and schools to choose the healthy alternatives.
I think it would be wise for Dole to begin a public relations campaign to create awareness about this new product among schools, teachers, parents and children. By promoting these healthy vending machines in schools, children and parents will know they are available and will hopefully utilize this product. Dole could perhaps create two different campaigns: one to target schools, teachers and parents and one to target the children. If the children know it's better to eat the healthier foods, and the parents encourage it, Dole's new product has a much better chance of competing against other fast food options.
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