New vending machines have brought an assortment of snacks to Lightridge. Many students see this as an opportunity to refresh themselves during the long school day, but the machines may not actually help much due to the ground rules surrounding their use.

The three new machines in the school are located in the fine arts hallway, world languages hallway, and outside the main gym. These new additions to the school only work before and after school, annoying many students.

The vending machines are regulated by the county based on nutritional standards, which is the reason they aren’t accessible during school hours.

“The county regulates the food distribution times so as to not to compete with the cafeteria foods that we have,” explained Student Activities and Engagement Coordinator Jake Johnson. “You shouldn’t be worried about food during the day because we provide enough food during breakfast and lunch time.”

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is a document written for policy makers, federal nutrition program operators, nutrition educators, and health care providers that enforces nutritional standards in schools. The DGA guidelines are required to be followed by the Health, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. This act was promoted by Michelle Obama and helps schools across the nation provide healthy foods for their students while also giving low-income students easy access to school meals.

Providing the snacks served in the current vending machines during the school day would violate the DGA and Health, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 because the majority of the snacks go against the nutritional standards listed in the bill and guidelines. Having the vending machines open before school and after school makes sure that the nutritional standards are being met during the school day.