Vending In Schools

I'd Rather Do It Myself

The Widsom & Wealth of Self-op Vending
Vending machines are simply automatic retail stores, nothing more. Vending machines sell literally anything and everything around the world. There are vending machines that sell eggs, milk, insurance, services (like a shoe shine), maps, flowers, phone cards, gasoline, computer time, cell phones & ipods, entertainment (movie DVD’s), subway tickets, parking privileges, food & beverages, alcohol, cigars and believe it or not... even prescription marijuana.

Just like a retail store, vending machines can accept a variety of forms of payment... multiple denominations of bills & coins, credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, coupons and can also authorize and dispense selections on the basis of an authorized identification (ID card, key fob, prox card, and even biometrics such as an optical scan or finger print). This is how vending machines are used to dispense emergency medical supplies and narcotics at ambulance stations and hospitals across America.

The key to any successful retail store is addressing the specific needs of the community that the store serves. This is also true of a vending machine, since it is just another form of retail store. Public Schools constitute a very unique community to which the common rules of vending are quite contradictory.

Versus

Let Someone Else Do It

The common approach to satisfying school vending needs is to ask a third party vending machine operator to:

Buy the machines
Fill those machines
Repair those machines when necessary
Share the profits.

This is a very flawed system operating on very old and false presumptions. In reality this is what we find with school vending machines:

The wrong machines are provided... like machines that do not offer first-in-first-out inventory rotation to insure freshness... or machines with candy & gum/mint selections... or only $1 bill acceptance.
The machines are not filled as frequently as necessary and very often have products that oppose the nutritional wellness policies
Repairs are frequent and slow because vending operators resist investing in the reliability that comes with more expensive equipment
Revenues are never, ever audited and if they are even paid at all there is no proof those dollars are what was promised. There is no accountability demanded.

Less Money - Less Control
No Sales Auditing

Doing It Ourselves

Self-op School Vending

You control everything when your school operates its own vending machines. Schools can municipally lease or buy vending machines that are custom designed just for them with such features as:

Your own healthy product selection
Point of Sale connection so students can use their student ID to make healthy vending purchases using their lunch account funds
First-in-first-out auger rotation to insure product freshness and a wide variety of healthy choices
Multiple bill acceptance for greater convenience
Credit card and debit card acceptance
Reimbursable meal sales
Custom graphics encouraging healthy eating and exercise
An academic Rewards program that rewards academic improvement with healthy eating
A far greater product selection that can include fresh whole fruit, dairy products, salads, sandwiches, baked chips, energy bars, organic snacks and beverages, cider, yogurt, etc.
The right school machines means very few problems. We enjoy an average of less than one service request per machine per year for all the machines we have placed at schools.

Dramatically Greater School Income
Greater Healthy Food & Beverage Variety
Integration with Educational Focus
Total Nutritional Control