California Governor Jerry Brown Signs Legislation Requiring Healthy Options In Vending Machines
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed new legislation requiring vending machines in state buildings to offer healthy food options. The goal is simple but serious: improve consumers’ overall health in light of California’s public health crisis fueled by diet-related diseases. More than half of all Californians are considered overweight or obese, at a cost of at least $41 billion annually in medical bills and lost productivity.
“This legislation ensures that every state employee has access to healthy snacks and beverages in the workplace. Promoting the health and well-being of our dedicated workers will pay great dividends for the state by helping to reduce the cost and prevalence of diet-related disease,” said Senate Bill 912 author Senator Holly Mitchell.
SB912’s new standards require one third of all foods in state vending machines to follow established nutritional guidelines limiting sugar and fat, and for one-third of all beverage offerings to be 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, water or low fat milk. Best of all, food items meeting the recommended nutrition standards will likely be sold at a price equal to or lower than all other items in the vending machines.
Not Just The Golden State
About two thirds of adults in the U.S. are considered overweight, a problem that contributes to health-related diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even some forms of cancer. To combat related rising health care costs, state and local governments are adopting healthier standards for vending machine snacks, drinks and meals. New York City, Chicago and Washington D.C. are just a sampling of the many municipalities that have set healthier nutrition standards for snacks, drinks and meals sold in vending machines.
But I Don’t Want the Government Telling Me What To Eat
We didn’t want the government telling us to wear seatbelts, either, yet research shows that seatbelts saved 150,000 lives over a 25-year period. The strong political push for healthy vending supports the estimated 74% of consumers who have made a personal decision to eat better, resulting in public demand for healthier vending machine snacks. In fact, healthy vending purchases are outpacing traditional junk food vending machine sales by 3:1!
Healthy AND Convenient
If eating junk food is linked to obesity, diabetes and a host of other health problems, why do some consumers still choose to eat it? One major reason is convenience. HealthyYOU Vending is meeting this challenge by combining vending machine convenience with healthy snack, drink and meal options. Learn more about having a high-tech, user-friendly HealthyYOU Vending Machine placed at your workplace at no cost by one of our reliable local distributors.
Ahead of the game with HealthyYOU Vending
New FDA regulations effective in 2014 requires vending machines to post product nutrition information to help consumers become more aware of calorie counts and, in turn, make healthier snack choices. While other vending machine companies are scrambling to meet these new federal regulations, HealthyYOU Vending machines have already had this option for years, with an easily customizable media console located on the front of the machine that can display calorie and nutrition information — at no extra cost!
HealthyYOU Vending is the right choice for companies, their employees and customers. Become a distributor today.