After school cravings before softball, baseball, track or musical practice are finally filled.

The School Board approved a three-year contract with Three Rivers Healthy Vending, LLC for vending machines in the district. These machines, which were installed on March 6, are full of snack foods and drinks that meet the nutritional standards set by the government.

Because the machine cannot compete with the cafeteria lunches, it will be off during the lunch periods. This is because the school needs to provide a healthy lunch to all students. In the past, some students would buy snacks from the vending machines instead of getting a full meal from the cafeteria. With a timer installed into the machine, it will be turned off at the beginning of A Lunch and turned back on at the end of C Lunch.

With the previous vending machine, there were technical issues. If a customer didn’t receive their snack, they had to go through a process in which their snack would eventually be available, or they would be refunded. The new vending machine has a different tactic for this issue. If the snack isn’t distributed then the machine will try again to vend the item and if it doesn’t work, the customer will get a refund automatically.

“Items sold in schools during the school day must meet standards set in the Healthy, Hunger, Free Kids Act of 2010,” food service director Dawn Fronius said.

Though the products in the vending machines aren’t chosen by Fronius, they meet the health standards she must follow. These restrictions are from the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act. Nearly one third of children in America are at risk for diabetes due to being overweight or obese. For that reason, these laws were put in place.

As the new vending machine enters the school and students use it, it’s necessary for constant stocking of the products. If something needs to be restocked, the machine lets the company know through an app. For example, the vending machine will send a message saying that it’s out of a certain item. So, now the customer can expect it restocked within the next day or two. The vending machines sell both cold drinks and regular snacks.

“The new machines are a significant upgrade from where we’ve been and provide a good service to our school, especially to those who stay after school and have musical practice,” Superintendent Dr. Jeffery Fuller said.

This is true for both the middle school and high school. With the new snacks this year, the improved technology and how to purchase, vend and receive a snack from the vending machines has gotten easier. A convenient plus to the vending machines are the fact that they not only accept cash, but they accept debit cards, PayPal and Apple pay. So now, the students who stay after school for sports, classwork or musical practice can buy food from the vending machine instead of having to bring their own snacks.