Some vending machines in the Sioux City, IA area have gotten an overhaul thanks to an initiative that seeks to increase the number of people with access to healthy food and beverage options.
Last fall, Siouxland District Health Department received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and began working with local businesses to increase the number of healthier options in vending machines and in cafeterias.
Sioux City Journal reports that New Perspectives, Inc., Siouxland Medical Education Foundation (SMEF), and Sabre Industries agreed to have their vending machines audited. Angela Drent, Siouxland District Health Department health planner, inventoried all of the vending machines at the worksites and color coded the products to help users identify healthy options. The businesses and their vending companies were then responsible for changing the offerings to reflect the guidelines of 30 percent yellow and green items (healthiest) in snack machines and 55 percent yellow and green items in beverage machines.
New Perspectives, Inc. saw an improvement from 6.3 percent healthy options in five vending machines to 43.2 percent.