The UK’s Food Standards Agency has announced the launch of a new guide on how to set up healthy vending machines and make a profit in secondary schools, selling drinks such as milk, pure fruit juice and water.
The guide, which is the result of a project funded by the Food Standards Agency and supported by The Health Education Trust and The Dairy Council, will be distributed to secondary schools in the UK in a bid to encourage head teachers and caterers to offer more healthy drinks in vending machines.
Within the guide, healthier drinks are defined as those drinks that contribute positively towards a balanced diet and also do not contain high levels of fat or added sugar. Such drinks include pure fruit juices, milk and water.
“The guide’s publication is timely, as many schools are wanting to ensure that pupils have access to healthier choices. There’s no doubt in my mind that it will help schools establish an effective and profitable healthy drinks vending machine, as part of the whole-school approach to food and nutrition,” said Joe Harvey, Health Education Trust director.