So what does the vending machine mean to you?

I was in the staff room of a client’s factory last week and it was full of vending machines. These were loaded with healthy food made by the factory and sold at very cheap prices to encourage the staff to eat well and try the product they actually make. It goes with the company’s aim of encouraging healthy eating by all and it is practised even in the staff room in their own factory.

Food and drink vending machines are everywhere and a part of all of our lives. There would not be one of us who hasn’t stood in front of one and spent time deciding what it is we want to snack on – sweet or savoury?

The scene in a Seinfeld episode where the chocolate bar gets stuck and won’t drop shows a fear that we have all experienced when placing our money into a vending machine and tapping the item number. You can so relate to what George is going through and does in that episode.

There are many types of vending machines and products they dispense. Recently in Brisbane a company installed a trial of a Banana Vending machine. It dispenses a pack of three or five bananas for a very reasonable price, to encourage people to eat healthily and to find new ways to get people to eat this very popular fruit.

There are machines that dispense hot food and cold food and then there are those that do all types of drinks. The sales of soft drinks, and particularly the colas, would be nowhere near as high without vending machines.

The Daily Meal recently did a great article about the history of vending machines and it is well worth a look at. I had forgotten about the Automator restaurants, but I now remember visiting Melbourne as a kid and going to one there, as it was such a novelty.

It really is only our imaginations that will determine what can be dispensed from a vending machine, so keep an eye out for what will be next at a station or business near you.

This article was written by Rachelle Williams – The Green Food Safety Coach