Usually I pack most of my food that I bring on the road from home, so I don't often pay too much attention to the vending machines in most of the driver lounges or breakrooms. After waiting near the check-in window at a shipper earlier this week, waiting for them to come back from their lunch before I could check in, I noticed something in the vending machine next to me I hadn't seen before. This particular machine had green plastic pieces on some of the vending rings that spiral around to release each individual snack.
In a time when a large amount of effort has gone into changing or even eliminating vending machines from our children's schools, you don't ever hear of any concern in the mainstream of healthier vending machines for truckers. I started to pay more attention this week to snack vending machines and noticed they are mostly filled with candy, sodas and other empty calorie snacks. The criteria for the green ring items are pretty straightforward, yet they are not what a nutritionist would consider a "healthy snack".
I began to wonder if there were any companies out there that make "healthy vending" machines that could be incorporated into the places that drivers frequent while living life out on the road. Contrary to a popular belief, there are actually things out there that taste good and are also good for you. In my research I came across a growing franchise of healthy vending from a company called H.U.M.A.N., who's Human Vision is to "Make Healthy Food More Convenient Than Junk Food". They were even ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as the #1 vending franchise in America. Something like this could be a major step in driver health if it was incorporated throughout all of the warehouses and truck yards around the country. I know I would rather pay an extra few cents for something that was much healthier than what I usually see in the vending machines out there today!
Until more machines like these take root across the country, choose wisely what you eat at the "grab and go" vending machines. If something like the "green ring" snacks are the better choice of what's around, choosing one of those might be the right step at that time. I urge people to consider your health on the road during your next span of home time as well and pack healthier snacks to sustain your next trip in the truck. Be on the lookout for sugar content, sodium, and saturated fats when choosing different packaged items to eat as a snack. When you want a quick snack fix, try your hardest to make it quick and healthy as well!