Read the picture article attached related to 'Hold on to your honey buns- American vending machines are getting healthier'. Then, do some on-line research (10 lines paragraph) to focus on:

1- Pro's & Con's of getting your lunch/snack from vending machines.

2- What might we be giving up (opportunity cost) when we take advantage of these convenient food sources? Please focus on health opportunity cost vs vending machines source of food.

3- How does the 'shift' is the type of alternatives offered by vending machine companies help us to make 'healthier choices' and what could be the impacts on our lives?Please focus on health impact vs food variety in vending machines (you can use Japan as an example where vending machines variety of food including healthy food).

Be sure to include 3 URL's address for the sites from which you select information.

I newsela Search Browse v Your Content V Assignments 1210L Health Hold on to your honey buns: American Activities vending machines are getting healthier Save 40 Read Aloud Share Prin 203 1 Cooke Cooked CHEEZ IT elch's peels hacks in a vending machine. Starting in January, some of these sugary and salty snacks with be replaced moto by: Patrick Sison/AP by Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff blished: 12/13/2019 Word Count: 708 There are 5 million vending machines in the United States. They are stocked with everything from Funyuns to Snickers, Cool Ranch Doritos to individually wrapped Duchess honey buns and more. We insert our money, press the appropriate buttons and watch with anticipation. The metal spiral corkscrews our selection forward until we hear that satisfying thunk as it hits he bottom (except, of course, when the occasional snack gets stuck dangling). These machines are in schools, workplaces, apartment buildings, hospitals, correctional facilities, military installations, colleges, universities and elsewhere. "Better For You" Starting next year, a third of their offerings will be "better for you." The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) announced this fall that it has committed to increasing the number of healthy offerings in vending machines nationwide. NAMA is the trade group representing the $25 billion vending machine industry. With the support of two anti-obesity nonprofits, NAMA's 1,000 members have agreed to raise the share of healthy options from 24 percent to 33 percent. Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are supporting the project. Both nonprofit organizations work to lower obesity rates in young Americans. "This is a very big deal for them," PHA CEO Nancy Roman said. "Vending is the nut that hasn't been cracked, but when you work with a sector-wide group, you can move quickly." Consumers' Tastes Are Changing Vending machine options are typically shelf-stable foods, so they tend to be mostly high- sugar, high-salt and highly processed snacks, as well as Roman said the vending machine industry is aware that consumers' tastes are changing. "The entire population would like to eat better food products - truck drivers want a chance to eat better food; millennials and Gen Z are leading the way," she said. "It's the vending industry positioning itself for tomorrow's consumers. It will make a meaningful change in the food culture and drive shifts in food production." NAMA CEO Carla Balakgie said the project is part of something that started in 2005, when the industry launched a labeling program to identify "better-for-you" products. NAMA defines "better for you" as a food or beverage that meets at least two of the healthy food standards established by PHA, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Smart Snacks. The new healthier options will replace sugar-based beverages with water and non-sugary beverages, according to Josh Rosenberg, former CEO of Accent Food Services in Texas. The options will also include apples and bananas, string cheese, nuts, dried fruits and sandwiches. They will also have baked chips instead of fried ones and fresh foods prepared in USDA-certified kitchens. Accent Food operates 21,000 vending machines, 1,300 "micro-markets" (unattended convenience stores) and 4,000 pantry service operations. The company sells about 750,000 individual food and beverage units per day. It services places such as the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Technological Innovations In Equipment Some of this push is also due to technological innovations in equipment. Shelf-weighted, ensor-based coolers allow customers to walk up and swipe a credit card, which opens the cooler, and through sensors and cameras, the equipment determines what you bought and charges you accordingly. The operator is sent up-to-date restocking information electronically without anyone having to be on-site. "Tech has allowed us to reach beyond our boundaries," Rosenberg said. "This is about investing in new technology, retrofitting existing equipment and product changes in existing equipment." For Rosenberg, this shift is also an opportunity to compete with advanced vending machines in other countries around the world. "We want to become Japan in unattended retail," he said. That said, he doesn't think the honey bun is going away anytime soon. Experts are also taking into consideration how this change will affect consumers' wallets. Vending machine foods are also disproportionately consumed by middle- and low-income Americans, Roman said. Vending machines are one of the least expensive food options in the food industry, Balakgie said, so it's important to maintain a range of options to avoid pricing out low-income people. Healthier choices will come to vending machines near you starting January 1, 2020. Reproduced with permission. Copyright @ 2019 Washing Post. 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