Supplies From School And Office Vending Machines

Your time matters.

Students and business folk are in more of a rush today then ever before. It seems like all of the gadgets used to make things zip by more quickly have simply ramped up expectations for everyone else to do more things faster. It might be good for the world, but it is making things more and more difficult for everyone to do the basics.

In both offices and schools, many folks are trying to use vending machines to lighten the load a bit. Using an office vending machine to sell necessary supplies for your work is a great way to save employees a trip to the office supply store. Rather than wasting precious time trekking there and back, you can simply have a thoroughly stocked supply vending machine.

Similarly many colleges and even some high schools have stocked up school vending machines with supplies like pens and notebooks, allowing students to grab supplies right before class rather than making another stop all together.

All of this talk of “Life being too short” and #YOLO means that we need to make the most of our time. Waiting for a cashier to ring you up at the local Staples is by no means living life to the fullest. These machines save time.

The Improved Quality Of New Vending Machines

Back in the day many vending machines seemed easily manipulated and as a result easily robbed. In my younger years, I can recall a particular school vending machine that kids would kick just right for free chips and even some loose change. It is enough to make you skeptical of the potentially lucrative world of vending machine ownership.

Luckily, the vending machines manufactured by Intelligent Dispensing Solutions have corrected for many of the design snafus of the past and have built a sturdier and safer machine. If you have used a vending machine in the last decade or so, and it was a newer machine, you might have noticed that some of the function problems often associated with vending machines seem completely fixed. Gone are the days where your snack might dangle from the dispenser, teasing you and taking your money. These days new vending machines are effective and fair.

Owning a vending machine should not feel like a risk. It is one of the safest bets in retail. There is no overhead and little chance of a theft assuming the machine is properly serviced and maintained. You should move into the world of retail vending unafraid and ready to make some cash.

Dormant School Vending Machines?

In the months after the school doors close, it might seem like those school vending machines go unattended and, frankly, just sit there. You begin to wonder when you get back to school in September, have those items been just sitting there all summer?

Of course not. Anyone who is responsible for operating and stocking a school vending machine should be smart enough to manage the items inside during times where the building housing the machine should be dormant. Luckily, most people who own and operate a vending machine in one place are likely running a larger retail vending operation. Some of those items can stock other machines in other places.

The other possibility is that many of these schools hold summer school classes for students that didn’t quite make the grade. Just ’cause your grades weren’t up to snuff, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the occasional study session with the Keebler Elves.

Schools that do not have summer classes might have staff instruction or daily summer camp programs. The fact is, there will be turnover in these machines in the steamy summer months. In the end, chances are you can count on the products in the machine still being delicious come September.

Vending In Schools, Choices For Kids

The power of choice is something that is important for developing and even mostly developed youth. While so much if controlled about our sons and daughters’ daily lives they need to feel that they have the opportunity to make some decisions for themselves. If we don’t nurture their ability to see what is right and wrong, as well as understanding the value in making the right choice, they are likely to end up in a bad place.

School vending machines are a great first area to teach kids of personal decision making. You offer a wide range of snacks, fun snacks, healthy snacks, healthy and fun snacks, then you let your children begin making choices. Discussing those choices will offer you a chance to explain varying health benefits of different foods and things that should only be enjoyed once in a while.

That may seem like a lot of importance to tie to snack vending in schools but it truly is an important first step towards adulthood for kids. As things progress you may find your son or daughter is making the wrong choices and you will have ample time to break them of their bad habits and instill good decision making in their habits.

Retail Vending In The Office

With advances in technology there seems to be an increased emphasis on the idea that work can be done anywhere. The connectivity of video chatting, cell phone based email, and a wealth of other technological advances ensures that work does not stop outside of the office. Still, losing employees for a lunch break and then again for a break to go out and grab an afternoon snack definitely has an affect on over all productivity.

This is why retail vending machines can be so helpful when put in your office. Keeping employees in-house when they decide they need an afternoon can of Coke or a bag of protein packed peanut M&M’s can help avoid minutes and often hour long work stoppages for a craving.

Of course schools have understood this for years. While back in the day many high schools allowed students off premises for lunch or even free periods these days kids are kept in school to avoid cutting and developing a lax attitude about the school day. School vending machines were put in to offer kids a chance to fuel up without leaving the building.

Keeping employees happy and engaged is one of the keys to proper business management. In-house retail vending machines can help.

Innovative School Lunch Programs

school vending machinesSchool vending machines are not a new idea, but with many parents, and the government, concerned about the health of our children, we need to come up with new and better ways to provide nutritious food in schools. We can’t just accept snack vending machines filled with soda, candy, cookies, and chips. There needs to be an innovative system and Intelligent Dispensing Solutions has stepped up to the plate to take the challenge.

They have partnered with Point of Sales companies to bring automation and tracking to the lunchroom, while still offering a better selection of foods. Their POS system will easily track food and offer students an easier way to purchase. Any students who are eligible for free or reduced lunches can be easily tracked too. Money will be deducted from a student’s account instead of wasting time with cash, although cash can still be accepted.

School lunch vending machines can reduce the congested lunch line by providing similar healthy choices in a convenient location. You can easily change the face of your lunch program by investing in these smart machines. Visit Intelligent Dispensing Solution’s website to learn more and speak with a representative about integrating the machines into your school.

School Vending Machines Still Offer Unhealthy Snacks

school vending machinesChild obesity has been the topic at hand recently. Weight in general has been on everyone’s mind, and it’s apparently going to continue until serious changes are made. In a recent survey of elementary schools, about half still have access to unhealthy snacks in school vending machines. Back in 2007 the Institute of Medicine recommended that school meal programs be the main source of nutrition for kids as opposed to vending machines. Despite their recommendations, not much change occurred between 2006 to 2010. More than half of elementary school students are able to purchase food from outside sources.

What is even more disheartening is that access to healthy food, excluding school meal programs, was limited. Researcher Lindsey R. Turner commented, “Because children spend many hours in school, changes are needed to make the school environment healthier by limiting the availability of less healthy food products. ” In 2010 the U.S. Department of Agriculture set a standard that schools may not sell food of little nutritional value in the cafeteria during lunchtime, but they can be sold in vending machines at any time.

It’ll be hard to completely rid vending machines of typical snacks and replace them with healthier options. Instead, we need to instill good eating habits at home and at school, teach children about healthy food, and warn them of the health risks that come with obesity.

School Vending Machines Keep You Focused

school vending machinesI remember the good ol’ college days. Although the days were certainly shorter than when I was in high school, I was just as exhausted and overworked as ever. I was running to work in between classes, staying up late writing papers, and attempting to read an entire novel in two days. Classes were certainly longer, sometimes nearly 3 hours long. It was often difficult to get a good night’s sleep. But instead of relying on drinks with tons of caffeine, I just made sure I had something in my system!

Food gives us the energy we need, especially when we make a healthy food choice. That’s why school vending machines can be a good thing for kids. Sometimes the lunch period is just too far away or we don’t have time in between classes to take a food break. By offering foods in school vending machines with plenty of nutritional value, we can give kids the energy they need to stay focused. When tummies are grumbling, it’s hard to think about anything else, not to mention you just don’t feel like you have the energy to make it through the next 40 minutes. Granola bars, fruit, juice, all these will keep sleep attacks at bay and help us to perform better.

Mikey, Hershey’s, and the School Vending Machine

school vending machineSchool vending machines have Hershey bars, which to my youthful palate were a divine, luscious reward for a day spent among the munchkins and societal rejects who constituted the population of my school. When I felt those creamy chocolatey squares melt on my tongue, I would get excited, which was, now that I think about it, largely a reaction to sugar, and I would energetically seek my lone friend Mikey.

Mikey had a rat tail. He wasn’t the most popular kid in school but because his mom had left him when he was younger and his dad was never around he was well-respected. Mikey wasn’t a chocolate guy per se, but he knew that when I ate chocolate I became a kind of Mr. Hyde.

Together, we snuck into the girls’ bathroom and made gross farting sounds when we heard the door open, we climbed out of windows into areas of the school marked no trespassing, and we generally did whatever we weren’t supposed to do. Finally Mikey was expelled for lighting  a cherry bomb in the boys bathroom. I lost my only friend. But that didn’t stop me from eating those Hershey bars from the school vending machine once 2:30 rolled around.

Dr. Pepper From School and Office Vending Machines

school vending machinesDifferent parts of the country have different preferred soft drinks. In Georgia, they drink Coke. In Texas, they drink Dr. Pepper.

This soda is unlike any other. Brooklyn-born pharmacist Charles Alderton formulated the drink in Waco, TX in 1885, touting its 23 flavors on a national level by 1904. Today Dr. Pepper can be found in many school vending machines and office vending machines. No one knows what flavors were blended to create the unique taste, and many have speculated. And with so many possible factors, it’s impossible to know with certainty.

One thing’s for sure: Dr. Pepper is a tasty alternative to Coca-Cola. In fact, Coke knew this and tried naming what would eventually become Mr. Pibb, Peppo. Dr. Pepper sued them and they changed the name to Dr. Peppo, which they were sued for again, so it became the much less tasty Mr. Pibb.

It’s hard to classify Dr. Pepper, yet that is arguably what has helped it stay so successful throughout the years. Its myriad flavors are a great way to break from the regularity of a lemon lime soda or a cola and if you’re ever in Texas, you know what drink to choose from an office vending machine. Enjoy!