MACHINE CUISINE: Bill Radunz, the foodservice manager at Montebello High School in Denver, explains the inner workings of one of the vending machines that has been programmed to disburse reimbursable meals. At left: Lillian Page, the school’s VendSmart manager.

Photography by John Lawn

For years, vending machines have played the dual role of the anti-R.D. and anti-FSD in the nation's schools.

Nutrition activists saw them as evil disbursers of high-calorie soft drinks and high-fat snack foods. School directors pointed to them as competitors for limited student school meal dollars. And principals often relied on them as indispensable, bottomless piggy banks, generating cash for everything from sports uniforms to staff parties.

Lost in the controversy is that vending machines are, well, just automated dispensers. “It's not the machine that's a problem,” says Leo Lesh, “it's what's in the machine.”

Lesh, executive director, enterprise management for Denver Public Schools (DPS), is in the vanguard of districts around the country that see an opportunity to expand school foodservice and its presence on school campuses by embracing the world of automatic merchandising.

A Natural Extension for Foodservices

School foodservice has always been a complex business. One of the greater challenges has been coping with the sale of “competitive foods,” that is, food and snacks sold outside of the USDA-regulated school meal program. Vending has always made up a large part of such competitive food sales.

Historically, this was never a level playing field. The problem was compounded with the advent of local wellness policies and community concerns about nutrition.

One solution increasingly being looked at in many districts is a move to assign more responsibility to school foodservice operators (what USDA refers to as “school food authorities,”) giving them oversight authority for any food items a district sells. For some directors, this is a very desirable outcome.

“I think vending is a natural extension for foodservices,” Lesh observes. “Most directors already run good businesses. We know how to handle money, how to manage procurement and how to ensure food safety standards in our food preparation and handling. We understand USDA's nutrition regulations and also know what kids want. So it's a good fit for us.”

Vending in particular has the potential to be a great adjunct to the school meal program and a viable business opportunity, Lesh believes, augmenting existing business and extending the reach of the cafeteria in both time and space.

Lesh and others say the advantage of assigning administrative responsibility for vending to the SFA is that it increases accountability and control. The foodservice director is more likely to ensure that vended foods comply with federal and state laws as well as local policies. They can also ensure that offerings are coordinated with those already offered in school cafeterias.

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At DPS, the vending program has been profitably managed by the foodservice department for the past 10 years. All of the products vended on campus meet minimum nutritional standards and vended beverages all comply with AHG (Alliance for a Healthier Generation) guidelines.

More recently, Lesh was instrumental in getting the district to serve as the beta site for a unique pilot program in Colorado to test vending in an Offer-vs.-Serve reimbursable meal model.

At one high school, hallway vending machines provide rembursable meals during an extended, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. lunch window. Students can select a customized, reimbursable breakfast or lunch meal, paying for it via their debit cards or (if qualified) obtaining it for free once they fulfill the requirements for it to meet the reimbursable standard.