Healthy Vending at Parks and Recreation Facilitiesgreenplayllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Healthy-Vending-Article.pdfSome snack vending machines were stocked exclusively with FitPick-endorsed

From the — Winter 2018Email: [email protected]

Parks and recreation agencies are increasingly involved on the front

line of public health and wellness. Providing healthy snacks and refreshments at recreation centers and sports venues is an easy and responsible decision that agencies can make at minimal cost and maximum effect.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of U.S. adults are now considered obese, continuing an ever-expanding epidemic of obesity which could to lead to sicker Ameri-cans and higher health care costs. In addition, the CDC estimates that 18.5 percent of kids aged 2-19 now meet the clinical definition of obesity. Those numbers are up from 30.5 percent of adults and 13.9 percent of children in the year 2000.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more. A 6-foot-tall man weigh-ing 221 pounds is considered obese, as is a 5-foot-9 woman weighing 203 pounds. “The increase in youth obesity is of particular concern, because these children are at greater risk for lifelong health problems,” said Dr. Seema Ku-mar, a childhood obesity specialist with the Mayo Clinic. Kumar said she regular-ly sees children with diseases that used to be considered adult-only, including Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and fatty liver disease.

As such, it is incumbent on parks and recreation agencies to do what they can to help address this alarming public health issue. Local parks and recreation agencies are stepping up to the call. Across the country, cities and towns are adopting healthy vending policies to support a culture of wellness for

their employees, clients, students, and guests. To that end, a variety of agen-cies and researchers are addressing vending and creating vending policies. As part of a recent national study, Dr. Teresa Penbrooke collected vending policy examples from several agencies who are addressing this topic (Pen-brooke, 2017). In addition, the Nation-al Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA), which lists Health and Wellness as one of the three pillars of their organization, works with local park and recreation agencies to provide tools, resources, and technical assistance to improve access to healthy foods and increase opportunities for people to be physically active in their communities.

According to Matthew Gullet, Facility Manager at Broomfield, CO’s Recreation Services department, “There is substan-tial research indicating that the envi-

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Healthy Vending

at Parks and Recreation Facilities

ByJohn Rainey

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ronments where we live, learn, work, and play shape our ability to consume healthy food and beverages. Vending machines are one component of these environments. By providing healthy foods and beverages through vending, Recreation Services will support positive lifestyles for employees and the people we serve.” Their guidelines apply to the products offered by Recreation Services vending machines including:

Beverages:• Water (plain, sparkling, flavored with

no sweetener)• Milk or unsweetened non-dairy

beverages (nonfat, 1% or 2% less than 12 ounces)

• 100% juice or juice with only fruit/vegetable by-products (less than 8 ounces)

• Vegetable juice (with 230 milligrams of sodium or less per serving)

• Unsweetened tea or coffee• Diet beverages• Other beverages with less than or

equal to 40 calories per 8 ounces

Food Items:• Fresh fruits and vegetables• Nuts and seeds with no add sugar• All other snacks that meet the follow-

ing nutrition standards:• Less than or equal to 200 calories• Less than or equal to 10% of calories

from saturated fat• Less than or equal to 230 milligrams

of sodium• Less than or equal to 35% of calories

from sugar• 0 grams of trans fat

Broomfield’s policy also extends to advertising and promotion, ordering that vending machine “wraps” shall not promote unhealthy options, and that all

healthy products be properly labeled in a manner to indicate they are “healthy.”

In Raleigh, NC, the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources department has recently changed their snack vending contract to specify that 50% of their vending machine output adheres to vending guidelines specified by the Alliance for a Healthier generation (https://www.healthiergeneration.org). The criteria call for: less than 200 calorie per serving, no more than 200 milligrams of sodium, less than 35 per-cent of calories from fat, and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat.

The Community Center Vending Policy in Liberty, MO, aims to create a com-munity where healthy behaviors are the easy and preferred choice. Staff recommended use of the USDA Smart Snacks in School Guidelines. As a part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the US Department of Agri-culture (USDA) published practical, science-based nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold to

children at school during the day. The standards will allow schools to offer healthier snack foods to children, while limiting junk food. These standards are titled, “Smart Snacks in School.”Nutrition Standards for Foods are:• Be a “whole grain-rich” grain product• Have as the first ingredient a fruit,

a vegetable, a dairy product, or a protein food

• Be a combination food that contains at least 1/4 cup of fruit and/or vege-table

• Contain 10% of the Daily Value (V) of one of the nutrients of public health concern in the 2010 Dietary Guide-lines for Americans (calcium, potassi-um, vitamin D, or dietary fiber)

• Meet designated calorie, sodium, fat, and sugar limits

Nutrition Standards for Beverages are:• Plain water (with or without carbon-

ation)• Low fat/now fat milk• 100% fruit or vegetable juice and• 100% fruit or vegetable juice diluted

with water and no added sweeteners

From the — Winter 2018Email: [email protected]

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• No more than 20 ounce portions• Other flavored and/or carbonated

beverages that are labeled to contain 5 calories per 8 fluid ounces, or 10 calories per 20 fluid ounces

• No more than 12 ounce portions or beverages with 40 calories per 8 fluid ounces or 60 calories per 12 fluid ounces

Metro Parks Tacoma, the recreation district in Tacoma, WA, states that the District is dedicated to providing an environment that supports community as well as employee workplace health. Their Healthy Food policy applies to all programs and events, vending ma-chines, concessions, and employee and public meetings.• All Metro Parks Tacoma programs

and events providing food will do so with at least 75% of the food adher-ing to the Healthy Food Guidelines based on the USDA’s Dietary Guide-lines for Americans.

• All Metro Parks Tacoma vending machines and contracted conces-sionaires will also have at least 25% healthy options within the selection and/or menu items adhering to the Healthy Food Guidelines offered to the public.

• All Metro Parks Meetings facilitated for employees and the public will provide food adhering to the Healthy Food Guidelines at 100%.

The National Automatic Merchandis-ing Association (NAMA), is a national association representing the $25 billion convenience services industry. They have more than 1,000 mem-ber companies, including some of the world’s most recognized brands. NAMA member companies serve snacks, meals, and beverages to mil-

lions of Americans every day and, “are committed to providing operators the tools they need to offer informed choices each time a consumer visits a vending machine, cafeteria, or micro market.”

In 2005, NAMA created FitPick®, a healthy vending and micro market labeling program, to help vending op-erators and consumers identify prod-

ucts that meet recognized nutrition guidelines. Today’s FitPick guidelines identify maximum values for calories, fat, sugar and sodium – making it sim-ple to see whether a product qualifies or not. To find out more, visit www.fitpick.org/nwc/

Several studies have shown that healthy vending machine snacks are well received by patrons. In one study, some snack vending machines were stocked exclusively with FitPick-en-dorsed products like Nature Valley

Granola Bars, Baked Lays Potato Chips, and cashews from Kar’s Nuts, for example. Others held about 70% of the commonly found high-fat, high-sugar, high salt and empty-calo-rie snacks, in addition to nearly 30% of contents considered to be healthy. Nutritional/promotional signage indicated the machines had healthy alternatives. The results of the study showed that people chose the FitPick

products more frequently than other snacks, and water was the preferred beverage.

As the country continues to face serious health issues including rising rates of chronic disease, an increased prevalence of sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition habits, parks and recre-ation offer an affordable and acces-sible solution. By promoting healthy eating and physical activity, parks and recreation are improving the health and wellness of our communities.

From the — Winter 2018Email: [email protected]

10/17/17, 11'34 AMHealthy Vending Machine Snacks – Will People Buy Them? - Medical News Bulletin

Page 1 of 2https://www.medicalnewsbulletin.com/healthy-vending-machine-snacks-will-people-buy/

Healthy Vending Machine Snacks – Will People Buy Them?

Scientists discovered that when healthy vending machine snacks were offered for sale,along with information about their nutritional content and promotional items, morepeople bought them.

You are what you eat. But did you ever stop to think if the vending-machine product you’ve chosen represents the best health outcome for

you?

Yale University researchers wanted to find out if stocking vending machines with healthy snack and beverage choices would result in greater

sales of such products. To that end, they selected 56 vending machines around a university campus, 28 for snacks and 28 for beverages,

located next to each other in libraries, departmental buildings with classrooms, dormitories and in administrative buildings to reach a cross

section of students, faculty and staff.

They wondered if various combinations of promotions and pricing, along with offering products meeting the National Automatic

Merchandising Association’s FitPick nutritional standards, would yield data showing people chose healthier items compared with traditional

items, like candy, cookies and sugary sodas, normally placed in such machines.

The study ran for five months, between February and June, inclusive, 2015.Its results were compared with findings from the same time

period a year earlier.

Some snack vending machines were stocked exclusively with FitPick-endorsed products like Nature Valley Granola Bars; Baked Lays Potato

Chips and cashews from Kar’s Nuts, for example. Others held about 70% of the commonly found high-fat, high-sugar, high salt and empty-

calorie snacks, in addition to nearly 30% of contents considered to be healthy.

Nutritional/promotional signage indicated the ingredient content of the machines’ FitPick items and wording designed to encourage the sale

of such a product. Some signs on random machines offered price reductions for these more nutritionally sound foods. The same criteria

were applied to beverage vending machines stocked with water, carbonated diet beverages and unsweetened iced tea and also to machines

September 12, 2017

GreenPlay consultants can provide information regarding facilities management and operational strategies. GreenPlay is also a key sponsor of GP RED, a non-profit organization which supports health, recreation, and land agencies through initiatives like their Healthy Communities Research Group. To find out more about GP RED, visit www.gpred.org.

From the — Winter 2018Email: [email protected]

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References:Penbrooke, T.L. (2017). Local parks and recreation agencies use of systems thinking to address preventive public health factors. (Doctoral Dissertation). North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Retrieved from: http://www.gpred.org/resources/ under PhD Dissertations

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