In April 2012, University of British Columbia (UBC) Land and Food Systems (LFS) students audited UBC Food Services (UBCFS) snack vending machines against BC’s “Healthier Choices Vending Machine Policy” (HCVMP), and found a number of discrepancies (Ma, V., et al. 2012). A major contributing component of an unhealthy diet is the overconsumption of highly processed foods, many of which can be found in vending machines: 59% of campus offerings were categorized as “not recommended” (Ma, V., et al. 2012). Using these results, the new and healthier “Gage Snack Vending Model” (hereafter referred to as GSVM) was negotiated.
Group 26 will be taking steps to assess the current healthy snacks offered in UBC vending machines under the Gage Snack Vending Model (GSVM). This research is being conducted in order to understand what aspects of the GSVM work versus what aspects need work, and to incorporate community feedback into its design. Our aim is to find a working compromise between consumer preferences and what healthy options the vendor is able to bring in. The GSVM’s introduction was a positive change, but the model is not yet ideal so to follow-up and continue developing the GSVM, our CBEL project will focus on the following:
- What improvements can be made to the Gage Snack Vending Model already in place on UBC campus?
- How can the scope of the model be expanded to include beverage vending machines?