Healthier vending options introduced across campus
Two hundred and thirty five vending machines across campus are being stocked with healthier drink and snack options this fall as part of a new pilot program at Virginia Tech.
The program, Healthy Hokie Vending Options, is a joint effort by Hokie Wellness in the Department of Human Resources, the Task Force for a Healthier Virginia Tech Campus, and Virginia Tech Services, Inc., in partnership with Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated and Aramark.
Approximately 20 percent of the snack vending machines and all of the beverage machines on campus have been restocked with healthier options.
The healthier snack options include Baked Cheetos, Garden Salsa Sunchips, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Nutragrain Strawberry Bars, Snackwell products, Snyder’s Pretzels, and Wheat Thins. These items will be located in the far left row (from top to bottom) of the machines.
Vending snack machines in the following locations have been selected for the pilot program:
| Burruss Hall | Newman Library, fourth floor | Student Services Building |
| Cowgill Hall | North End Center | Torgerson Hall |
| Derring Hall | Payne Hall, first floor | Virginia Bioinformatics Institute |
| Durham Hall, second floor | Slusher Hall, first floor | Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine |
| Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown | Smyth Hall | War Memorial Hall |
| Litton Reaves | Squires Student Center | Whitmore Hall |
| McBryde Hall, second floor | Sterrett Center | Williams Hall |
Healthier drink options in the Coca-Cola machines include Dasani Water, Smart Water, zero calorie sodas, Powerades, 100 percent Minute Maid Juices, and flavored Dasani water.
The machines now feature nutritional labels and “Calories Count. Check Then Choose” labels as well.
"We are pleased to offer these new options to students, faculty, and staff," said Cathy Kropff, director of Hokie Wellness. "We hope the program will be well received, allowing us to restock more vending machines with healthier options in the future."
Since 1968, Virginia Tech Services, Inc, who manages the vending machines, has given more than $45 million in surplus funds to Virginia Tech to fund student initiatives.
The pilot program will be evaluated at the end of the fall semester. To provide feedback, contact Hokie Wellness at 540-231-9331.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
Snack Bar
A healthier snack from the newly stocked vending machine at the North End Center.
