Vending Machines Rejuvenated

Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) recently announced, that in its commitment to whole health and well being, it will be offering new, healthier choices in all of its vending machines across its campuses. Over the past year, a cross-section of LLUH nutritional leadership took part in creating dietary criteria, listening to vendors, sampling their products and ultimately recommending a single vendor for the entire organization. Most recently, a food fair was held during which vendors were able to provide samples of their offerings to a variety of staff, students, clinicians and administrators. Participants rated the food samplings in a number of areas including flavor, presentation, cost and healthful ingredients. “We are excited about the range of options that will come to replace the current assortment of sodas, candy bars, and junk food over the next few months,“ said Daniel Fontoura, Vice President for Wholeness at LLUH. This change will introduce a wide range of healthy, flavorful and often gourmet-like options. Fontoura continued, “We want to assure everyone that the replacement items are designed to not only be healthier, but at the same time provide an array of sweet, savory, and satisfying choices. We really want to make the transition to healthier snacks as easy as possible, while sending a small but symbolic message that we want a food environment maximizing health and wellness.” LLUH will also be introducing changes to its menus in its cafeterias across the organization in 2015, designed to increase the availability of healthy selections. “Increasingly, our parents and students, faculty and staff, patients and community members are drawn to LLUH because of our legacy of wholeness and our notoriety for living longer because of healthy lifestyle and eating habits. We want to continue this tradition well into the future, and changes to vending machine and cafeteria food offerings is one of many exciting steps that will aid in improving overall health,” Fontoura concluded.