The Vending Situation | Teen Ink

The Vending Situation

April 11, 2024
By angello BRONZE, Oregon City, Oregon
angello BRONZE, Oregon City, Oregon
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Throughout my year at Tumwata Middle, I have experienced hunger but I haven't been able to get a reliable source of food for when I forget lunch. Although it may be expensive, vending machines in the school cafeteria and possibly the halls would help with many of the issues including hunger and picky eaters, income, and overworked staff. By adding vending machines, we could also solve many more issues.

Having vending machines in the cafeteria and the halls could improve grades, happiness, and efficiency. They could also decrease hunger and it would make it so the kids who don't like the school lunches could have an accessible and reliable source of food. Another thing vending machines could do is make it so the overall quality of the school would go up and so would the students' happiness.

Vending machines mean money and money means more learning, more activities, and new teachers. We could also use the money for things like better lunches and nicer computers and possibly some lockers. Better pay for the teachers could also be a factor as well as better amenities and food for the teachers. As Google said, “Vending machines can make up to $200 a day if placed in a high-traffic area”. More money would be very beneficial and is pretty necessary for the school to work and operate better.

Another upside to vending machines would be less overworked staff. Many times when I go into the lunch line it seems like the lunch ladies are overworked and they also have students working in the cafeteria because they don't have enough people and the snack shack wouldn't have to operate and that would save more work and money. It would make it so the student helpers could go and enjoy lunch too.

Some vending machine critics may say that they are too expensive to buy in the first place but if we find small things that nobody cares too much about such as the otter pawtery, and we use the money from those to pay for the machines. We could also do fundraisers and sell more things like hoodies, hats, and other things along the lines of clothing. There are also some ways to get vending machines installed in school and restocked for free.

Vending machines are a must-have in a school with this many kids and teachers, especially when most of them are teens. It is a more accessible way of food for kids and teachers, a good way to make extra money for more learning opportunities at school, and it would make it so that kids wouldn't have to help in the cafeteria at lunch and the lunch ladies would be less overworked. According to UIC EDU,” not having vending machines in a school can increase fast food and snack consumption among the students.”


The author's comments:

this piece is an argument on why we need vending machines in our school.


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faqzs BRONZE said...
on Apr. 29 at 4:11 pm
faqzs BRONZE, Oregon City, Oregon
2 articles 0 photos 5 comments
W mans