Healthy School Vending Options

This week in the Post and Courier, an article highlighting "Getting rid of the junk in school vending machines" was posted. As of July 1, 2014 the USDA's new "Smart Snacks in Schools" standards go into effect. These standards require that snacks:

• Contain more than 200 calories
• Total fat must be less than or equal to 35% of calories
• Snacks must contain less than or equal to 35% of sugar by weight
• Must contain less than or equal to 230 milligram of salt
• Contain zero trans fat

Schools in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester 2 County School Districts are making strides to offer healthier vending options to their students and staff.  Schools receive 5 points on the wellness checklist for replacing unhealthy snacks across the entire campus, including all vending machines!

Two companies were highlighted in the article that specialize in offering these healthier options- East Coast Organic Vending and H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending. Charleston Charter School of Math and Science was also highlighted as using one of these companies to provide healthy options to their school. Great job!

If you are interested in receiving the contact information for either of these two companies please email the leanteam@musc.edu. For more information on the Smart Snacks in Schools standards please click here.