FOR THOSE who don’t know, Granger has recently received new vending machines. These new machines are more sleek in appearance and design. Apart from a new look, the new machines come with new snacks.

The new machines are not here for an aesthetic upgrade, but because they come with new technology. “So the machines are owned by Pepsi and they are the ones who fix them and restock them. The new machines run on wifi and can give Pepsi some data, but it also alerts them to problems. If the machine is not vending it alerts them so they can come fix it,” Ms.Foster said.

As mentioned before, the new machines also brought new products. Despite most of the snacks being healthier alternatives to what the machines used to hold, the students who purchase from the machines regularly do not seem to mind.

“Yeah I think some of the things that were added are better than the food they had last time. I think the Kickstarts are pretty good, a lot of people are getting those now because those are better than like the flavored water drinks from before,” said Edgar Lopez (12)

In most cases, when something new is introduced somewhere, people tend to be curious of what the new thing is. This has been the case with the vending machines as there are now more people purchasing and hanging around the area.

“There has been a lot more kids coming around to get food now. I think it’s because the new drinks in the machine. The Kickstarts are pretty good so yeah everyone likes those. I also think it’s because they are restocking the cheetos a lot more so kids come by to get them,” said Lalo Garcia (12).

The machines seem to be a hit with students here at Granger, but they aren’t the only ones who are liking the new machines. The administration is taking in the benefits that these new machines provide financially.

“Our contract with Coca-Cola ended this year ,so we had to put out bids for a new provider. We had bids from Coke and Pepsi, and the Pepsi report came to be a lot more efficient and cost effective. We get 25% of the earnings from the machines and none of that has to go to maintaining the machine anymore because Pepsi comes in and does it,” vice principal Mr. Jackson said.

Granger can be a busy school with a greater than usual student count of around three thousand. The administration understands this and is attempting to focus time on school-oriented tasks. These new machines are helping them achieve this goal.

“Since the machine is owned by Pepsi they have to choose what is in the machines and they have to come fix it. The good thing about the machines is that it tells them what is selling and what is not and they come to restock at least once a week. All of those things use to be the job of the administration or the finance staff and it just took up a lot of time that we needed. So not only are these cost effective they are time effective,” said Mr. Jackson.

Despite the new machines, there are still a few outdated machines left in the vending machine area. A common complaint is that the old machines do not have a card reader for those who do not carry cash. This problem could possibly be answered soon.

“Right now we have a few machines that we still have to stock and maintain. We do make more money off the machines we own but they aren’t time effective like the ones owned by Pepsi. We hope to bring in another company to take the space of the old machines and the new machines will have card readers for students. The new company will bring more variety with the snacks too because they choose what goes in and not the school,” Mr. Jackson said.

With the arrival of new machines, students may not need to look much further than the school for when they are hungry. With some of the recent advancements in technology that have been conquering the news, it is hard to think of something as small as new vending machines being a part of that. Granger administration looked beyond and are now enjoying the benefits of the new machine, and the students enjoy them, too.