I have been a student my entire life but specifically, I have been a college student for almost 6 years. I have attended three different colleges including Loyola University of Maryland, Nassau Community College, and Baruch College. Some semesters I was full time and others I was part-time but a question I saw myself asking almost every day was what should I get for lunch. I always felt my options were limited, either I could get fast food which is a quick meal for cheap but it would leave me feeling sluggish and regretting my choices. Another option being sort of healthy food that I could get quickly, for example, a salad bar or a health food store, but the issue with this is the price. I couldn’t eat from a health food store every day because it was financially unreasonable. The other option is eating at an actual restaurant but most days I wouldn’t have the time.
This made me realize that there must be other students dealing with the same problem. It’s so easy to go for the quick option but it’s at our financial or health expense. This issue is more universal than just for college students. I think a good solution to this problem would be a vending machine that serves healthy and fresh food.
It’s not uncommon for a vending machine to be refrigerated so the necessary technology to execute this idea is already. I believe this a good solution to the problem I presented because it tackles all three issues that I laid out. The first issue being health, if I had a vending machine on campus where I could get fresh salads, fruits, and other delicious health foods I would use it consistently. The second issue being price, since this is not a storefront I would be able to save lots of money on rent and employee salaries. This means I could offer the same quality products as other health food places for a much better price. Finally, the third issue being time, as a full-time student I’m quite aware of the time restraints I have to get everything done. Most days I would be eating lunch while doing work. A vending machine would cut the time of procuring the food. Another benefit I could see is the convenience of actually eating the food. Since it is in a vending machine I will have to find creative and space-saving ways to store the food. So, instead of having a large spread of food on the table where I’m trying to work, it’ll be compact and easy to clean up.
February 18, 2021 at 9:33 am
Not a bad idea. Vending machines “spaces” are controlled by the university so maybe this can be a student government run type thing? Sourcing food/restocking are some of the issues but maybe you can solve them as you proceed further.
February 22, 2021 at 9:19 am
I love this idea as I have longed for this solution at Baruch! A few semesters ago they did add one or two vending machines that had healthier options such as wraps and healthy snacks but I would definitely use a more robust service. I think the largest barrier to entry will be the administration as their approval is necessary to even have your product be accessible. In what ways would you be different than the recent solution implemented? Are those reasons strong enough for Baruch or other places to bear the switching costs? All that being said, I would absolutely love fresh, healthy, and convenient food options on campus!
February 22, 2021 at 11:14 am
My product will be different than what is currently offered because it will be much more than a simple wrap or a bag of nuts. I want to incorporate salads, cold pasta, hummus, grilled meat platters, energy balls (peanut, oats, dates), and many other options that offer much more than what is currently available. I do think the hardest part of this process will be restocking consistently because the fresh food can only last up to a day or two. Starting out I will want to keep my machines in just NYC so I can get a feel for distribution without being spread too thin.
February 22, 2021 at 1:06 pm
This is a great idea. I certainly understand our need as students to eat healthy while saving time and money. A healthy food vending machine is definitely attainable because I have seen vending machines contain entire meals. It would just be up to your discretion on which foods you want to incorporate.