YoNaturals Vending Against Junk Food in Schools

Due mostly to the feet-dragging of schools addicted to the proceeds from junk food vending, schools have been slow to adapt to the demand for healthier vending products for students. There is huge debate over whether healthy snacks and drinks will sell as well, and therefore whether they will bolster the school budget as well as junk food has. Never mind that child obesity and early onset diabetes are ravaging our nation’s youth. Our schools are far more concerned with a few extra text books or computers, seemingly forgetting that junk food makes it more difficult for children to learn, rendering those extra textbooks rather useless.

We’ve really sold our souls to the junk food and soda companies haven’t we? Even worse, we’ve sold our childrens’ souls. Interested in just how powerful their lobbying is? Two weeks ago on September 2nd, 2008, the mayor of Albuquerque banned junk food from city vending machines. Very noble and brave of him, no? He listed numerous well-reasoned and conscientious reasons for doing so, one of the more forward-thinking reasons being that unhealthy vending foods actually increase the cost to taxpayers by creating unhealthier citizens, thus increasing the cost of health care. What we should have seen was a domino affect across the country, with other stats following the mayor’s exemplary decision. After all, it’s not like New Mexico is known for its cutting-edge progressiveness (where was California on this one?).

Nonetheless, what we actually saw was the opposite. Exactly 14 days later (today in fact), Albuquerque’s mayor caved to the pressure from various sources, and is now simply ‘hoping’ that the city will consider some healthier options in the vending machines. So, his order as city leader has been reduced to a polite suggestion.

What better way to illustrate the problem we are facing? Money, money, money. That’s what people care about first and foremost. It’s what got us into this mess, and it’s what is keeping us in this quagmire.It has been shown time and time again that the same revenue can be made from vending machines that provide healthier alternatives, as long as some consideration is given to the taste of the contents. In fact, as Americans become more and more health conscious, people are increasingly avoiding vending machines altogether because they typically don’t contain food that should be consumed by a healthy human being. It would stand to reason that many places would actually make more revenue from vending machines were they to provide healthier options. We must release the grip of the junk food industry if we are to improve the embarrassing health situation in this country.

YoNaturals offers healthy vending machines that offer only natural and organic snacks and drinks. The machines are modern and very neat looking, have the latest technological perks such as cashless payment systems, and even notify vending distributors if certain snacks are running low in real-time. Locations that have acquired a YoNaturals machine are raving about their success. What excuses are left?

It’s time to topple the behemoth that is the junk food and soda vending industry. Their days are numbered, much like the gas-guzzling SUV’s of the last decade. The only question is, how long will it take to do the right thing? Let’s make it sooner rather than later.