Recent studies show that obesity in America has risen far above the rate of obesity in other countries.

A major contributing factor could be the fact that healthy nutritional food choices are less available than the less expensive fattier food choices that people tend to make, specifically here on campus at Diablo Valley College.

When looking at the food choices available to students on campus, the most evident option is vending machines offering items such as soda, chips, candy bars, and other food which are not nutritionally beneficial for busy students. With schools being one of the main avenues for students to learn about health and nutrition, it would only make sense that they offer a variety of healthy food options for students to choose from to encourage students to make smart decisions when it comes to health and diet.

When people think of healthy food, the first thing that comes to mind for many people are items such as fresh produce, perishables, and other items that may not have preservatives in them. However, there are alternatives available in today’s market which offer healthier options when it comes to vending machine offerings such as healthy snacks, drinks and even entrees/sides as outlined, for example, by a company called HealthyYOU Vending (www.healthyyouvending.com).

The company has been in the Healthy Vending Industry for over 12 years and has nearly 5,000 customers nationwide. This goes to show how successful a healthy vending machine investment can be if you have customers that will take advantage of the offerings.

In a recent survey taken in my evening class at Diablo Valley College, it was found that approximately two thirds of the students would take advantage of the benefits that a healthy food vending machine would have to offer.

Although this is only one class out of the hundreds that are offered on campus and even district-wide, this is an indicator that many other students on campus might feel the same way.

After speaking with fellow classmates and students, I feel it would be a great investment for Diablo Valley College to consider replacing the current vending machines with ones that offer a healthier and ‘smarter’ choice of foods for the student body to take advantage of.

– Jordan Van Ausdal

DVC Student