At HPHS there are seven different vending machines with 35 different drinks ranging from A&W root beer to watermelon Arizona iced tea.There are also 82 different snacks ranging from Crunch bar to Austin zoo animal crackers. Almost all the snacks and drink are unhealthy and/or have some type of nuts.

In a 20 oz bottle of Dr. Pepper there are 64 grams of sugar.  As reported by the American Heart Association or the AHA, the maximum amount of sugar you should have a day for men is 37.5 grams and for women, 25 grams.

That means that men who drink one bottle of Dr. Pepper with 20 oz are over their healthy daily sugar limit  by 26.5 grams of sugar, and women are 39 grams of sugar over their healthy daily sugar limit if they drink one bottle of Dr. Pepper with 20 oz.

Everything can be good in moderation, like how many times do students go to the vending machines or how much they get from the vending machines. Junior Grayson McTaggart goes about two times a day, every day. That means that McTaggart goes to the vending machines about 360 times a school year. His favorite snack at the vending machines is Doritos. If he buys Doritos every time he goes to the vending machines, he would spend about $270 during the school year on Doritos. Freshmen Benjamin Cruickshank goes to the vending machines three to four times a week. That means he goes to the vending machine about 144 times to 108 times a school year. Cruickshank’s favorite drink to get from the vending machine is a bottle of Dr. Pepper, and his favorite snack from the vending machine is Jalapeno poppers.

“The vending machines got’s some pretty good stuff and most teachers allow you to go (to the vending machines) before class or after class, it’s pretty nice,” Cruickshank said

Even though some of the vending machine food may be unhealthy, students and teachers at HPHS still get something from the vending machine every week. It has become a staple among students and teachers at Highland Park High School.

Next time you get something from the vending machines, use this rule of thumb – read out loud the ingredients of the snack or drink. If you can’t read it, you probably shouldn’t eat it.