As each chip bag or canned energy drink falls from the number of vending machines in our school, not only is there a satisfied customer on the receiving end, but an irritation that stretches across the Green Mile hallway.
With the popular craze around specific items, the most recent additions to the fixated vending machines have been Monster- another relevant energy drink and category of hot chips which include Takis and Hot Fires. Between several students going to the vending machine each block and passing period, they have had to be filled with various items multiple times throughout the week. The items replenish depending on the quantity of the food or beverage, and the least popular items are substituted.
“These vending machines and my other school’s machines need filling every day to every other day,” J&B Specialties owner Brian Oswolt said. “Over the past 10 years, the demand to replenish the snacks has been pretty high, and all the products in the machines have to meet strict USDA Smart Snack guidelines, which limit calories and sugar, among other things.”
Like any other congregated meeting spot, the vending machines have not been used for their sole purpose of feeding students, but act as a spot for friend groups to gather and converse.
The discretion behind going to the vending machine has created a problem in student and teacher relationships, as students will come into the classroom with multiple $1 to $2 items every period.
“I usually go to the vending at least once daily,” senior Delaney Lueck said. “The vending machines have acted as a way for my friends and I to escape class to get our favorite items. The vending machines at the end of the Green Mile, without a doubt, have the best items, as you usually have to wait your turn in line behind other students. You can get anything from sugar-free Redbull to snacks you would find in your pantry, and it burns a hole in my pocket.”
The Green Mile is home to several teachers with different staff roles; it has been a sanction for world language, business and journalism classes for several years. This year, more than others, popular sought-out food and beverage options have made the three vending machines at the beginning of this hall desirable, complicating the teacher’s lessons more than in other years.
“The vending machines appear to be very popular this year, more popular than others,” business teacher Janine Ellis said. “They have been a disruption when students are lined up outside them when they should be in class. The chaos these machines bring creates a distraction across the whole hall, specifically to how my students learn because my class is the closest to the noise.”
With the constant disruption the vending machines bring, the high volume of usage creates an unhealthy work environment for select classrooms. As the school year continues, these calorie-consumed machines will continue to annoy the working staff while also bringing a sense of enjoyment to a student’s day.
