Controversial School Vending Machines

Governments are becoming more involved with our children and what they eat in school.

They are going beyond recommending that schools take certain actions they are ordering it . These bureaucrats are concerned that the steady rise in child obesity is caused to a great deal by what kids eat at school. They further state that one of the main villains in the war against this obesity issue are the school vending machines that serve nothing but junk. This junk comes in the form of sweet packaged snacks, oily potato chips and soda pop. These machines are being ordered out of the schools.

But they are being replaced by vending machines that are dispensing different kinds of foods to our youth and these healthy drinks and snacks do not on average cost more than the unhealthy foods they have been eating up to this point. Vending machines are dispensing healthy snacks that include yogurts and yogurt drinks, pure juices, salads, sandwiches that do not use fatty meats and that are made on whole wheat or multi-grain breads. As well, there are healthy munchies for kids who like to snack that can be bought from the vending machines. These include trail mix, nuts, veggie chips and pretzels to name only a few.

One problem with this change over in the type of vending machines available is that if kids don't want to eat what the school provides them they just will not. They will bring lunch from home or, if they are high school students, they will simply leave the grounds during lunch to find what they want at a local store. You cannot force feed them. Many students do well whether it is by choosing wisely what they will eat from vending machines having been taught by their parents the difference between healthy foods and that which will not be good for them to eat. A large number of them are already choosing to live their lives as vegetarians.

The controversy of this issue is that governments are now sitting down at our tables and telling us what we can and cannot eat. Their concern over the health of the students is admirable. It is true that there is a problem with the eating habits of some children. But does that give the governments, be they local, state or federal, the right to usurp the prenatal role and decide what someone's children are allowed to eat. Will they order lunchboxes opened before they allow children to come into the schools?

This is one of the controversies concerning the schools and healthy eating. It is not that parents object to the healthier foods stocked in vending machines. It is not that they object to the money that is spent dispensing these healthy foods. It is the interference in the choices that they make for their children and this has sparked debates, protests and controversy for the parents, the school boards, the teachers and students. The only ones not giving their opinions are those stocking the vending machines.