By: Robert Anders
Students may have noticed the new school vending machine. It’s pretty hard to miss. Basically, Optimus Prime’s little brother is vending our school drinks. For starters, the technology has been updated by many a year. This new machine uses a mechanical arm that raises and lowers to the drink, then it grabs the drink and drops it in the grab-hole, at which point the arm returns to its resting position and the drink becomes available to the consumer.
Last year, the school accompanied three machines, each vending a different 20 oz. drink, varying from water to soda and everything in between. This year, the school is sporting only one, and soda is no longer available for purchase. The new drinks are 12 oz., which is smaller compared to the 20 oz. sodas and SoBe Life Water’s that used to be vended. The change in drink and machine started with a change in company. This year, the Eaton School District’s contract with Pepsi Products Co. expired. The school became what is known in the sports world as a free agent. Pepsi and Coke both made offers to the school regarding their products, but according to Steve Longwell, the co-manager of the vending machines in the school, “Coke made it worth our while more than Pepsi.”
Coke and Pepsi sell two different products, so the change in supplier is the reason for the new Powerade/Vitamin Water products. Prior to this year, sodas were vended from the machines, but this year, sodas are not being vended. The reason for the cessation of soda sales in the school vending machine is, according to Longwell, that, “Federal law mandates that sodas cannot be sold in school vending machines. They (sodas) can still be sold from concession stands during games, however.”
Not only did the vending products change, but the size of the products also changed. Ryan McIntyre, a senior attending Eaton High School, was an avid user of the old soda machines. Since the change in drink variety and product size, McIntyre has stopped using the machines completely. According to McIntyre, “We as high schooler’s have the right to personally govern exactly what we put into our bodies, and when we lose control of that, the very fundamentals of which this great country was founded on are forfeited and we are then bonded by the unbreakable ties of communism. Next time we should be more careful as to who we elect to run this country.” The federal law banning the sale of sodas in public schools states that sodas will no longer be vended in public schools as a step in the right direction to cracking down on obesity in America. According to downtoearth.com, “America is home to the most obese people in the world.” While many students feel the way McIntyre feels, federal law prohibits the sale of soda, and the present situation appears that it is here to stay.
Other students don’t seem to be as concerned. Junior Adam Mossberg has never used to machine, old or new, and he doesn’t plan on starting any time soon. “They are too expensive,” says Mossberg, “Its not even worth it.” Now it may be this tough economy, but many people like Mossberg are being much more careful with their spending. While the drinks only cost $1.25, the question “Do I really need to buy this?” comes into play. For many like Adam, the answer is “No.”
The new law combined with the change in supplier from Pepsi to Coke led to the new machine, the new drinks, and the new drink sizes, so prepare for at least three more years of Coke products.