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Schools? Texas


TKK

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Hey guys so i got a request for a big district here locally. 53 locations, elementary, middle schools, high schools, rec centers etc. They have a mess of dif vendors and no one knowswho put who where etc. So they wanna remove them all and make bids but the guy told me he liked my stuff. He let me in 2 places already. Next is a middle school, but no one knows what can be sold. They said something about some schools having timers where the machines are turned off until after lunch or after school. They prety much want machines and dont really know what can sell etc. Do any if u guys know the guidelines especially in texas or where i can get the info? Where do you get timers for soda machines to let the compressor on but not the machine?

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I have two machines in a high school in pa.  I use Royal machines that have built in timers for vending.  You can even choose which selections can vend at which times.  For instance...I let water vend all day...but any beverage over 50 calories has to vend a half hour after the school day.  One of my machines vends Coke zero products all day.  The kids really like Vanilla Coke Zero and Cherry Coke Zero.  I also vend Propel and Powerade Zero.  All newer G3s and Merlin 4's should have the timer option.  

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The federal regulations apply to schools that accept federal school food assistance, which is pretty much all of them... and NO ONE seems to understand all the rules.  Here is a website that may help:

https://www.fns.usda.gov/healthierschoolday/tools-schools-focusing-smart-snacks

Good luck - my single experience with student vending was not a happy one.  The machines did GREAT business until they were destroyed by burglars.  Security cages were no help when the bad guys had all weekend to do their work.  My biggest suggestion is to INSIST on indoor, well secured locations where adult staff are always nearby during the school day. 

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  • 2 months later...

So did you get the accounts?  I am a healthy vending operator in Indiana, I have machines in 2 high schools and 2 middle/high schools.  I have Jofemar combo machines that have timers and lockouts, so I can control what time of day each selection can be sold.  Some lockout the whole machine during lunch hours.  As far as what products are allowed, the link above has a product calculator that lets you enter the nutritional info and it will tell you if it is allowed or not.  Basically, 1st ingredient of snacks has to be a whole grain or fruit/vegetable (not potato) and less than 200 calories -popcorners, pop chips, baked Kettle chips, etc.  Drinks can be 100% juice or 0 calorie.  I'd be happy to answer any questions.

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We used to have a couple schools (we still have them), that absolutely killed it.  Back before the strict guidelines came about, the money was rolling in.  Two of the schools were my top 2 accounts, even with them producing in the summer and winter break.  We could put whatever we wanted in and didn't have to worry about timers at all.  We still have those schools, but on average, they do 20-30% of what they used to do before the restrictions.  That doesn't take into account the amount of stales we have to deal with, which can be high at times.  We are just lucky that we were diversified enough to where it didn't hurt us too bad.  

The restrictions were put in place for a good reason, (I'm all for making fat kids less fat) but they went overboard on the rules IMO.  I know the cafeterias have to be hurting as well.

But back to your current situation.  50+ schools for most vendors, me included, is such a huge number of new accounts at once.  Getting my hands on 50 machines tomorrow would be about impossible.  Yes, I could go new and get them tomorrow but that would cost an arm and a leg, and some/most of those accounts wouldn't do enough revenue to justify it.  If I could find 50 used machines then maybe, but then you deal with multiple different types of machines, the labor and time of cleaning them and getting them presentable, etc.  

Then, if I did get them all up and running, I would lose so much sleep thinking about when the district wanted to do something different next year.  A notification saying "You need to pick up your 50 machines this summer" would probably kill me.  I have about 10 relatives that are teachers so I've seen/heard it all.  I wouldn't feel comfortable putting 50 of my eggs in that big of a poorly built basket.  For me, it'd be a much different story if it were 10 schools and 10-20 machines, but you may be big enough where 50 machines isn't that much to you.  

 

Not to go on and on, but we have a district near us that is in a similar boat, sort of.  We have wanted a couple of the high schools and middle schools for years.  Like 5-10 years.  Every summer, we go in to the schools and try and get their business.  None of them have vending for kids or teachers.  None of them.  We even would do their teachers lounges, because if done right, they are worth it in our eyes.  We have about a dozen teachers lounges.  They aren't game changers, but every 3-4 weeks, we go there and collect 125-150 bucks per machine.  It slows up in the summer and winter but that allows us to take some time off which we don't mind.  We put in older, paid for equipment and it works for us.  When we go to these high schools and middle schools, the secretaries all say, "Unfortunately, you have to go through the district office".  The district office says every year, "there's an open bid for all of the schools in the district.  Elementary through high school".  The bid isn't the biggest deal, because we could charge whatever we wanted due to no competition, but every machine has to be 5 years old or newer.  We explain to them how this way is beyond stupid.  No vendor is ever going to do this deal/bid.  You would think me telling them "You haven't had any vending, even for your teachers, for 10+ years" would open their eyes but it doesn't.  We explain to them, how we are willing to do a couple each year, and maybe eventually get to most/all of them, but a vending company in this area is never going to have the capital to do them all at once.  They have yet to change their ways.  

That is why your earlier situation would make me hesitant.  There are some idiots in every profession, and schools are no exception.  

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