Healthy vending plan-o-gram
Stocking your vending machine with healthy snacks and drinks encourages people to make healthier choices when they are on the run.
To meet the Healthy Choices guidelines, vending machines should include at least 50% GREEN (best choices) items and less than 20% RED (limit) items. Some AMBER (choose carefully) items may also be provided.
GREEN items should be placed on the most prominent shelves (for example, at eye-level) and RED choices should be in the least prominent positions (for example, the lowest shelf of the machine).
The plan-o-grams below provide examples of how to stock a drinks vending machine and a snacks vending machine in line with the Healthy Choices guidelines. These plan-o-grams are only examples – there are many ways to stock a healthy vending machine.
A healthy drinks vending machine
| Position 1 | Position 2 | Position 3 | Position 4 | Position 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | Water (plain, still) | Water (plain, still) | Water (plain, still) | Water (plain, sparkling) | Water (plain, sparkling) |
| Row 2 | Water (natural flavours*) | Water (natural flavours*) | Water (natural flavours*) | Reduced fat flavoured milk 250ml** | Reduced fat flavoured milk 250ml** |
| Row 3 | Reduced fat flavoured milk 250ml** | Reduced fat iced coffee 250ml** | Reduced fat flavoured milk 250ml** | Reduced fat flavoured milk 500ml** | Reduced fat iced coffee 500ml** |
| Row 4 | Full fat flavoured milk 300ml | Full fat flavoured milk 300ml | 100% fruit juice 250ml | 100% fruit juice 250ml | 100% fruit juice 250ml |
| Row 5 | Diet soft drink 375ml | Diet soft drink 375ml | Regular soft drink 375ml | Regular soft drink 375ml | Regular soft drink 375ml |
*no added sugar or artificial sweetener
**reduced fat flavoured milk containing less than 900kJ per serve as sold is in the GREEN category. Reduced fat flavoured milk with more than 900kJ but less than 1600kJ per serve as sold is in the AMBER category.
Regular fat flavoured milk with less than 1600kJ per serve as sold is also in the AMBER category. All flavoured milk containing more than 1600kJ per serve as sold is RED
In this example, 52% of the drinks in the machine are in the GREEN category, 36% are in the AMBER category and 12% are in the RED category.
The GREEN drinks are positioned prominently at eye level, at the top of the vending machine. There are only a few RED drinks available and these are at the very bottom of the machine.
A healthy snacks vending machine
| Position 1 | Position 2 | Position 3 | Position 4 | Position 5 | Position 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | Lightly salted popcorn* | Lightly flavoured popcorn* | Air-popped potato chips* | |||
| Row 2 | Vegetable based soup (just add water)* e.g. pumpkin | Vegetable based soup (just add water)* e.g. lentil | Lean protein based soup (just add water)* e.g. chicken | Mixed nuts (raw/dry-roasted, unsalted) | Almonds (dry-roasted, unsalted) | Pistachios (unsalted) |
| Row 3 | Dry fruit medley | Tuna and crackers | Fruit and nut mix (with raw/dry-roasted unsalted nuts) | Tuna canned in spring water | Muesli/cereal bar* | Muesli/cereal bar* |
| Row 4 | Fruit tub in natural juice (e.g. peach) | Fruit tub in natural juice (e.g. fruit salad) | Flavoured rice crackers | Lollies | Chocolate bar | Chocolate bar |
| Row 5 | Oat cups | Wholegrain cereal cups | Wholegrain cereal cups | |||
In this example, GREEN snacks make up 53% of the machine, AMBER snacks make up 37% and RED snacks make up 10%.
Because popcorn and potato chips are very light weight items, in a real-life situation they will usually be placed at the top of a vending machine. There may only be spaces to accommodate larger GREEN items such as cereal cups or oat cups at the bottom of the machine.
Therefore, in the template above, GREEN snacks are displayed as prominently as would be possible in a real life, practical situation.
* Use the Healthy Choices: food and drink classification guide to determine classification of specific products.
For more information please phone 1300 22 52 88 or email heas@nnf.org.au
Except where otherwise indicated, the images in this document show models and illustrative settings only, and do not necessarily depict actual services, facilities or recipients of services. This document may contain images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this document, ‘Aboriginal’ refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ‘Indigenous’ or ‘Koori/Koorie’ is retained when part of the title of a report, program or quotation. Copyright © State of Victoria 2016
Written and reviewed by dietitians and nutritionists at National Nutrition Foundation, with support from the Victorian Government.
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The Healthy Eating Advisory Service acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate. We pay our respects to them, their culture and their Elders past and present.
The Healthy Eating Advisory Service is delivered by experienced nutritionists and dietitians at National Nutrition Foundation, with support from the Victorian Government.
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