Question Box: What's up with those giant vending machines?

Sprinkled throughout campus are the new-eco friendly vending machines. But what makes them different? (George Yanez) 

The vending machines, which are charateristically larger than the average, are Energy Star certified vending machines that are used, in part, to provide more healthy choices for Mason students, staff and faculty members.

According to Mark Kraner the executive director of Campus Retail Operations for Auxiliary Enterprises at GMU, other vending machines use twice as much energy and money to operate.

Kraner says the number one reason why the vending machines appear bulky is because “they hold a wider capacity for more snacks” that are both healthy and not so healthy.

Although there are healthy options, Snickers, M&Ms and Twix bars are included in the selection—that’s because vending machine companies cannot ignore certain snacks that the people want to eat. In fact, the leading snack seller in these vending machines is Snickers.

As for the profits from the vending machines, “all the money from the vending machines goes back to the students through scholarships,” said Kraner. All of the profits made from the vending machines are given back to Mason students— that’s approximately $600,000 a year in scholarship funds.

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