High school snack machine awaits replacement

photo by Henry Scrivner Students often purchase snacks from the high school snack machine, and 8th grade student Andrew Holley is one of them. Over the past few years when students purchased snacks from the machine it didn’t give change back or accept any, but they had hope for the future.

Students who frequent the vending machines may have noticed that the high school snack machine does not provide change. The machine only gives a flat rate for all snacks, meaning if the product usually costs $1.50, students will have to pay $2.00 since it doesn’t provide change. In contrast, snacks that may traditionally cost more than $2.00 have been lowered to the averaged price to compensate. 

“The HS snack machine is the only one that can't give change,” Mrs. Allison Turner, a parent volunteer on the advancement team said. “It has not done that since my kids were in high school (about 5 years ago). The snack machine is owned by the school and is too old to be repaired  so it can't give change, which is why each item is the same price. Mrs. Jamey Wood has to make the decision to buy a new machine when the school can.”

Despite the machine being old, students have been unaware of the reasoning as to why it remains broken and if the costs were being fairly evened out. The school is aware that the machine no longer provides change and plans to fix it once the machines raise enough money to help afford a new one. As of right now, the price labeled in the machine says that it costs $1.50 for each snack, but users will notice that you actually have to pay $2.00. This is because they averaged the prices of the snacks to be fairly covered. For some snacks, students are getting a better deal due to this average, for other snacks, they may be paying a bit more.All funds from the snack machine go to helping fund the future of the high school snack machines. Once it is paid off, the proceeds will go to the Foundation for the Future Fund which will help to improve the school over the upcoming years.

“This year at the high school we partnered with Coca-Cola to install and supply products for the high school drink machine, as that machine finally quit working,” Mrs. Turner said. “We are hoping that we can purchase a new snack machine for the high school sometime soon.”  

The idea that any extra profit gathered from the snack machine will go towards a new machine is hoped to encourage students to continue purchasing snacks from the high school machine. Students also have their hopes for what the future snack machine will look like.

“I think that the snack vending machine should have the same format as the drink one with a working card slot,” sophomore Kipling Hightower said.

Having a working card slot is a feature on the high school drink machine and with both of the lower school vending machines. 

“The two [vending machines] in the main [building] were replaced last year,” Academic Dean and Business Officer Mrs. Jamey Wood said. “The drink machine in the high school was updated last fall. The snack machine in the high school is very old, but we are working toward replacing it soon.”