Monthly Archives: February 2018

Healthy Vending Machine Choices

Healthy Vending in New York City Continues to Grow

Healthy Vending ChoicesHave you noticed that the availability of healthy vending machine options in New York City continues to increase? Traditional snacks and beverages have given way to vegetable chips, protein bars, and naturally flavored water. The catalyst for these changes doesn’t stem from a single event. Instead, multiple perspectives unwittingly met to produce an increase in demand for healthy vending machine snacks and beverages.

Two of those perspectives are a concern about the increase in obesity rates in the United States and a demand for more nutritionally sound and sustainable snacks and beverages. In order to learn more about a specific product, greater visibility of important information needed to occur.

Industry Requirements

In 2016, obesity rates in the state of New York were 25.5% for adults and 31.8% for children ages 10 to 17. Because of an on-going increase in country-wide obesity rates, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) determined that consumers (both adults and children) needed to be able to easily locate the nutritional information of a vending machine snack or beverage. As a result, new vending machine labeling requirements about the placement of the nutrition label on items purchased from vending machines were developed. Today, caloric information is visible on “vending machine foods for which the Nutrition Facts label cannot be examined before purchase or for which visible nutrition information is not otherwise provided at the point of purchase” (https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/ucm513910.htm).

Healthy Vending Choices

Consumer Demands

Many snack and beverage manufacturers, however, have decided to include more information about their healthy vending machine products than the FDA requires. Clear product labeling lets the New York City consumer know what the ingredients are, how many calories are in it, if the ingredients are organic, non-GMO, or vegan, or if the snack or beverage is Fair Trade certified.

The following list defines a few of the terms consumers are looking for when deciding whether or not to purchase an item.

  • Organic: “certified organic foods are grown and processed according to federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives.” (from the USDA article, “Organic 101: What the USDA Organic Label Means”)
  • GMO-Free: products were grown or made without any genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
  • Sustainable:”production of food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare” (from http://www.sustainabletable.org/246/sustainable-agriculture-the-basics)
  • Fair Trade: a “model of sustainable, ethical trade that puts people and planet first.” (from https://www.fairtradecertified.org/why-fair-trade)
  • Vegan: a vegan snack is one that does not contain any animal-based ingredients including meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs and honey

The healthy vending industry offers convenient options that not only meet federal requirements, but also provide nutritious and sustainably-grown ingredients. To learn more about providing your New York City employees or students with healthy options, call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671. We look forward to hearing from you.

Healthy Snack Vending Machines

Quick and Healthy Snacks in Your New York City Vending Machine

Healthy Vending Machine Options in New York City

Are you looking for something to eat that is quick and healthy, and can be found in your New York City break room or lunchroom vending machine? Whether it’s a quick breakfast, fuel for a lunchtime workout, an afternoon snack, or a sweet treat, a KIND® bar can meet each one of those needs. Each bar is made from nutritionally-dense ingredients and contains no secret ingredients, artificial flavors, preservative or sweeteners. You’ll find nuts, real fruit, chocolate, spicy and savory flavors, and five super grains including oats, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, and quinoa.

And soon, you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite KIND® bar with others when you travel around the globe. In a new partnership with Mars, Incorporated, KIND will be able to expand their product offerings and business into international markets while continuing to make healthy and tasty foods available and create a kinder world through meaningful social impact initiatives.  

Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and CEO of KIND, explained it best when he said, “we’re looking forward to continuing on this journey as we empower more people to make healthy eating decisions across the globe. We remain fully committed to our guiding principles, including our commitment to always use a nutritious food as the first and predominant ingredient in every food product.”

Healthy Vending Machine Options in New York City

Whether enjoying a vending machine snack in New York City or around the world, it’s nice to know that KIND will continue to fulfill its KIND Promise. Both employees and students can continue to count on

  • snacks made from real food, wholesome ingredients, and sound nutrition;
  • nuts, whole grains, or fruit as the first and predominant ingredient;
  • everyone and everything being treated with integrity and kindness;
  • transparency about everything from ingredients to labeling;
  • low amounts of added sugar and no artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols;
  • and tasty and healthy snacks.

An additional way to offer encouragement and support to your New York City employees or students in their quest to be healthy, is to provide a wide range of healthy snacks and beverages in the office break room or school lunchroom vending machine. Fresh fruit, unsweetened tea, or bottled water are all great accompaniments to a KIND® bar. Help your employees a bit more by offering those snacks and beverages at a reduced cost or for free. That’s a win for everyone.

To learn more about adding healthy vending machine options to your office break room or school lunchroom, call Healthy Vending at 917.572.3671. We look forward to hearing from you.