These Idaho elementary schools are taking vending machines in a new direction
Vending machines in schools have become an increasing rarity in recent years, keeping sugary goods out of the hands of excitable children with nowhere to go but a classroom after a lunch of candy and soda.
But there are a couple of schools in the Boise area that are bringing vending machines back into the hallways.
Except these machines dispense snacks for the students’ minds.
Lakevue Elementary School in Nampa is one of a couple of schools in the area that has recently installed vending machines filled with books. Just like a normal vending machine, students can view all of the products on display. To get a book, they insert gold token coins given by teachers as rewards, and select a book that will then drop down into the bin to pick up.
But unlike a traditional library, students are allowed to keep these books.
Teachers can pick up gold coins from Lakevue Elementary librarian Jenn Eardley and reward them to students who have either accomplished something during the school day, or in Eardley’s words, simply need a “pick-me-up.”
“We use it as a relationship-building tool,” Eardley told the Idaho Statesman in an interview. “The adult and the student walk up to the vending machine and they have time to talk and visit, and have a look at the books and choose out a book.”
Lakevue installed the vending machines in the fall of 2020 as a way to allow students to take home books from school. Because of COVID-19 regulations, students weren’t allowed to take home titles from the school library.
Lakevue isn’t the only school in Idaho that is looking to change the vending machine game. Lewis and Clark Elementary and Wilson Elementary, both in Caldwell, installed vending machines in recent years. Snake Valley Elementary in Nampa is also working on ordering a vending machine in the near future, Nampa School District director of communications Kathleen Tuck told the Statesman.
An elementary school in Bonners Ferry, 31 miles south of the Canadian border in the Idaho Panhandle, unveiled its first book vending machine last June.
The typical book vending machine can hold up to 20 different titles and up to 300 total books. The machine in Lakevue offers a wide variety of books, from classics such as “Old Yeller” to “The Bad Guys” book series, which is soon to be released as an animated movie by DreamWorks Animation.
Eardley said they first stocked the vending machine with leftover books from past school events, and now order discount boxes through publishing company Scholastic.
“We custom ordered our vending machine to have different sizes of trays because it comes with a standard book size, but then you can upgrade and have larger trades,” Eardley said. “So we can even fit the bigger picture books in there as well, which is pretty neat.”
The machine has had a positive impact on both students and teachers, Eardley said. She has been collecting stories and notes from teachers about their experiences with the vending machine.
When teachers give Eardley feedback, she collects it on a spreadsheet. One comment she received reads: “I work with a student who has overwhelming odds. His perseverance and cheerfulness is an incentive to others. When he got his book, he asked, ‘Are you sure this is mine? I’ve never had such a big present!’”
Another teacher told Eardley that if they’re having a bad day, they will give out a gold coin or two to their students to “take the time to recognize the positiveness in my classroom, (it) really turns my day around.”
The vending machine used in Lakevue Elementary and Lewis and Clark Elementary, called Inchy the Bookworm’s Vending Machine, can be purchased from Global Vending Group or by calling (866) 468-0272.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
