Healthy Vending Machines?
 

Does anyone have any experience with supplying vending machines with healthy foods? I did a little research on it, but I wasn't clear about the availability. I'm on a wellness committee at work, and I would really like to get some healthy food items in our vending machine, not to mention GF items. Right now, it's all crap, and when I forget to bring enough food to eat at work, I end up buying some M&Ms or something that I really shouldn't eat.

Thanks, Claire

Boy, even just getting something like plain peanuts or blue diamond almonds really makes a difference. They sometimes stock ours with that, although I'm getting suspicious that nuts aren't for me. They have trail mix too, but they put M&M's in it. Dried fruit would be ok. Jerky would be good.

Other than that, I have no experience!

I agree nuts are good. Boxes of raisins?

Could probably find some trail mixes that are high quality and prepackaged.

Fruit leathers? www.stretchislandfruit.com ?

Some snack bars, although some of those would get very pricey... like.. Govinda Bliss bars. http://govinda.websitecandy.com/cate...sp?category=99

I think we will see the market respond to the desire of healthier foods, and perhaps new options will be available soon. I've seen a really boom in the snack nuts...some even offering less salt, etc.

Cara

I've seen a few healthy choices...but not necessarilly gluten free, LOL. (Crackers, granola bars)

I've seen some stocked with apples, but they bruise when they fall. :p

I'm thinking LARA bars would be good, small cups or tubes of applesauce, rice crackers, boxes of raisins, String cheese if you have refrigeration, single serve boxes of cereal, possibly "just add hot water" meals, and dried fruit or fruit and nut mixes all would be good bets. Packs of Instant Oatmeal for non gf folks? Juice boxes or soy milk boxes?

And of course...water and juice in the soda machines :D

What about tiny tins of tuna? We had those coupled with crackers in ours, but I wouldn't want the crackers.

Going back a ways
 

When I was in high school - long, long time ago - we only had healthy food in the vending machines. We had one machine that dispensed fruit. Real, whole fruit. Apples, oranges, pears, sometimes peaches or plums, if they were in season. The machine usually ran out before the end of the day, but if we knocked on the cafeteria door and told the workers, they would refill it. There was also a drinks machine that had milk and fruit juices only. No soda. And there was a snacks machine that had a small assortment of nuts, popcorn and a couple of other things. Might have had the peanut butter crackers or pretzels, but I don't remember. I don't think that there was anything really unhealthy in it - definately not the stuff you see in machines today.
Now, this was a high school - TEENAGERS - and the machine that usually ran out was the fruit machine.
All these places that say they can't have healthy snacks because they'll lose money never offered people healthy snacks. And apples and oranges are VERY easy to vend.
Debbie

Ours had something along the bottom that cushioned the fall. Just a layer of material (Rubber? cloth? been too long, can't remember what) but we didn't have a problem with bruised apples.
Debbie

claire,

a friend of mine has had a vending machine and snack food route for years. she recommened that you take the lists of snack foods that you like from this thread ( and any others that you can eat and like ), call the the company that services the machines that you will be using and ask them if these snacks can be added. that's if you don't see them there already.