The lone vending machine at Homewood High School, intended to only be used by athletes wanting a protein-filled snack after a workout, quickly attracted students from all across the school looking for a snack or a pass out of class.
However, principal Dr. Joel Henneke recently announced that the vending machine has been shut down and relocated to a new area to better regulate its usage.
Prior to his announcement, Henneke noticed the amount of students going to the vending machine had grown immensely. “The volume of student traffic, all throughout the day, it just wasn’t what it was put out there for”. This quickly became an issue that Henneke and other administrators sought to resolve.
Junior Madeline Maxwell frequently visited the vending machine at its previous location and found it helpful when wanting to grab a quick snack. “I would go to the vending machine and get something small if I forgot breakfast,” Maxwell said, “It was super fast and easy.”
Last year, when the vending machine was added to the school, Henneke and patrons noticed it wasn’t being stocked properly. Consequently, traffic to the vending machine slowed.
Henneke reached out to Buffalo Rock, the facilitator of the vending machine, to get the problem resolved. They agreed to keep the machine better stocked to meet the high demand. “Let’s be specific about what we are putting in there…I want something that is a benefit to athletes pre-workout or post-workout”.
Henneke intends to make sure the vending machine will now be solely stocked with “resources for athlete’s post-workout”, such as high-calorie and protein-filled snacks.
Federal regulations regarding the sale of different snack items have been put in place to avoid any competition between the vending machine snacks and the ones sold in the lunchroom. Henneke said “You can’t serve something that competes with what they’re providing. There is actually a window of time that you’re not allowed to serve before or after a certain time so there’s no conflict.”
Henneke is sure he made the right decision to ultimately reduce wasted time by relocating and increasing regulations on the vending machine. Student traffic will decrease and athletes will still be able to indulge in protein-filled snacks.
