YoNaturals Vending Machines
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.11.07
Face it, we've all been there: Standing in front of a vending machine with a fistful of quarters and a growling belly, gazing intently at the racks of nibble-size snack packages, while hemming and hawing over the pros and cons of choosing a packet of 100-calorie Oreos over a bag of Wheat Thins.
Healthful choices in these junk-food machines are generally few and far between, but YoNaturals wants to turn that concept on its head.
The Solana Beach, Calif.-based company stocks its YoZone vending machines with natural and organic snacks and beverages, a boon to school districts, hospitals, health clubs, corporations, and tourist attractions that want to keep the convenience and popularity of vending machines, but are also looking for solutions to combat obesity, diabetes, other health issues on the rise.
"People need a healthy alternative because they are too susceptible to the allure of fast-food and junk-food marketing," says Mart Trotter, CEO of YoNaturals in a press release. "Too many calories and too much of the 'wrong foods' are the cause of many obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.” ::YoNaturals
Not sure how tree-hugging this vending machine is since everything's individually packaged, but I do wish my work had luna bars and dried mango in the vending machine.
I agree - this isn't really treehugger information in my view either. Prepackaged "health" food is still processed "junk" food in my book. Maybe if they were vending fresh fruit in cornstarch packages...
This is awesome. And I will live to regret saying so.
I agree - this isn't really treehugger information in my view either. Prepackaged "health" food is still processed "junk" food in my book. Maybe if they were vending fresh fruit in cornstarch packages...
You're so right. There's no difference between Cheetos and Clif Bars, natural juices and soda pops.
Everything must be perfect immediately or it's bad and we should not change anything. I agree 110%.
Oh wow. I would be so excited to see these! Yes it is bad to buy things pre-wrapped but we are all in situations sometimes where we need a quick bite to keep us going. And I HATE looking at my options only to discover that I can't eat anything [I stay away from artificial coloring and flavoring pretty religiously], or must pick the least disgusting.
And even if I think ahead about snacks, there are a lot of situations where a Clif Bar or something similarly individually wrapped would be the only viable option.
Problem is rather than having to put in a loonie for a can of pop, you probably have to put in four.
Some people can't afford to suddenly buy only organic/fair-trade products or even just food.
We do try but some things we just can't get here. Stupid ruralness.
Problem is rather than having to put in a loonie for a can of pop, you probably have to put in four. Some people can't afford to suddenly buy only organic/fair-trade products or even just food.
Probably not a good idea to subsist on vending machine food - not really good for one's health or one's pocketbook. Maybe that's why this theoretical person is poor in the first place.
I always fnd it intersting that if someone tries to do something good in the world, someone else has to find the fault in it. Fact is, this is a good idea. Sure packaging and "snack" foods have issues no matter what, but people will buy and eat them anyway. So what is wrong with providing a better alternative?
The problem isn't that this solution isn't "perfect" enough.
It's that it's sold as such. It's that it's called "healthy" rather than "less harmful", etc.
It's that folks install one of these and think they've arrived.
"Now we're green and healthy."
Wrong.
this concept is brilliant! Why all you people cant applaud a company for trying to make a difference is beyond me.
This company is contributing to the solution rather then being part of the problem. Obesity is a huge problem in the US and this is a great step in the right direction.
Vending non packaged healthy products is impossible. (they go bad after a couple of days!)
Try to be a little more open minded....
Ernest
Vegan here....and I would love to have one of these machines at my job....better options (healthwise) and because the products don't have all the artificial flavoring, chemicals, etc, I would think it was better for the environment....not a long term solution (like...say....having an apple tree growing in the lobby of our building providing healthy snacks to all) but a step in the right direction nonetheless.....
I think this is a great idea. And I don't see why anyone is bashing the idea. Do you have a better one? They are solving a problem. Now when we are hungry and stuck at work or another business we can find healther alternatives. I think that's the point.
P.S. Do you guys really want a vending machine where the food is not individually wrapped? Think about what they are working with here.
And I do believe there is a difference between cheetos and cliff bars. And that vending machines should change especially in schools where the buck stops at the children. Children don't make good choices when it comes to food or almost anything. I think a vending machine like this should be in every school.
Absolutely agree. All of us are going to have to deal with times in which we have no choice but to not eat or eat something unhealthy. Children are worse off because they have no self control.