Vending Machine Insanity

Another Study Highlights the Insanity of Selling Junk Food in School Vending Machines

1 For many students, “back to school” means back to a vending machine diet. As you might guess, this isn’t necessarily a good thing for student health.

Which best describes the author’s claim in this article?

• School vending machines contribute to unhealthy eating habits among young people.

• Schools should not allow students to spend their lunch money on snack foods.

• Vending machine customers eat less salt but more sugar than other students.

• The country is experiencing increasing rates of many types of diseases.

Which best describes the author’s use of reasons and evidence to support her claim?

• The author explores both sides of the issue.

• The author focuses on research data and statistics.

• The author taps into the emotions of her audience.

• The author recounts a series of unrelated reasons.

What is the author’s purpose for writing this text?

• To describe the obesity issues that arise from eating foods made available in school vending machines.

• To deter anyone from using a vending machine.

• To convince people that vending machines in schools have a negative impact on student health

• To point out the positives and the negatives of selling junk food in vending machines.

2 Vending machines are found in 16% of U.S. elementary schools, 52% of middle schools and 88% of high schools. About 22% of students in grades 1 through 12 buy food in vending machines each day — and those purchases added an average of 253 calories to their diets, according to a new study in the September issue of the Journal of School Health.

What purpose does paragraph two serve in developing the author’s ideas?

• Provides evidence that vending machines are bad

• Provides solutions to the problem posed by vending machines in schools

• Provides evidence of how common vending machines are

• Provides an explanation of why vending machines are found in schools

3 Just to be clear, those were not 253 calories’ worth of tofu, yogurt or carrot sticks. The most popular vending machine items included soft drinks, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, cakes and ice cream. On the plus side, kids also bought low-fat milk, fruit juice and even fruit, the study found.

How does the author’s word choice help develop the point of view/purpose in paragraph 3?

• The author provides startling statistics to shock the reader and support her argument.

• The author uses hateful language to describe the vending machine distribution company.

• The author uses scientific language to explain the unhealthy eating habits caused by vending machine use in schools.

• The author lists examples of healthy foods and unhealthy vending machine foods which shows the reader the difference between healthy vs. unhealthy calories.

What is the author’s tone in this text?

• indifferent

• concerned

• caring

• upset

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Which sentence best supports the author's concerned tone?

• “Just to be clear, those were not 253 calories’ worth of tofu, yogurt or carrot sticks.” (paragraph 3)

• “One silver lining: Vending machine customers ate 4% less sodium than other students—an average of 3,287 milligrams per day compared with 3,436 mg for those who didn’t buy from vending machines.” (paragraph 6)

• “Overall, vending machines in school appear to be taking a toll on public health. ” (paragraph 6)

• “The study was based on data collected from 2,309 children nationwide for the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which was conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.” (paragraph 8)

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