Trinity has opened up a new health and freshness-focused vending machine in the Center for Science and Innovation (CSI) to promote convenience and sustainability, provide healthy options 24/7 and meet student dietary needs.
The new vending machine in CSI is part of a larger company called Farmer’s Fridge. According to their website, Farmer’s Fridge’s aim is to “make finding fresh & healthy meals as simple as vending a candy bar.” They operate over 1,000 locations, often in places where it is difficult to find fresh food, such as college campuses, hospitals and airports.
Chase Taylor, resident district manager of dining at Trinity, shared that adding the Farmer’s Fridge vending machine is one feature of a planned addition of multiple vending machines to the Trinity campus. Through this, Trinity aims to increase the quality and accessibility of food on campus, as Taylor discussed.
“Our goal is to provide students with access to fresh, high-quality ingredients in a convenient and fast manner,” Taylor wrote in an email.
Beyond quality and accessibility, the new vending machines also offer meals that suit more dietary needs. Kristen Lowry, sophomore neuroscience major, shared that she appreciates the vending machine due to her allergy.
“I have a corn allergy, so I can only eat specific things on campus because everything has corn,” Lowry said. “But there are a couple of things there, like their noodles are really good, and I get them. And I was so impressed because I was like, ‘There’s no way this just came from a vending machine.’ It 100% helps me being able to access food and then also being able to see all the ingredients right in front of me because you might not have that with Mabee or Coates.”
Although the goals of the new vending machine are fresh food and convenience, some students have some reservations about it as well. Lowry shared that even though it’s convenient for her allergy, it’s also expensive.
“My one issue with it is that it’s expensive and I can’t swipe my card,” Lowry said. “I love it, but you can’t use Bonus Bucks. And that’s what bothers me.”
Regardless of opinions on the vending machine, there are possible benefits for Trinity as an institution. A founding member of the Student Dining Advisory Committee, Harrison Tinker, junior Russian and computer science double-major, commented on the future role of the new vending machine.
“I think that the role that it serves symbolically is more in pushing the envelope of what Trinity is able to offer in hard dining concepts, as well as just kind of bringing us up to modern stuff like other institutions are doing,” Tinker said. “So, maybe if it’s not a perfect fit itself in this initial kind of concept round, a subsequent concept will be a better fit for the school. I think that only data and time will have to see.”