Pantry vending review

I really enjoyed the presentation on pantry vending because of the benefits it can provide to society. I think that the poverty rates are ridiculous in our society today and with the help of pantry vending food will be provided to those who do not have the resources to feed themselves of their families. Pantry vending is an invention where those who register and meet the criteria of below or near below poverty, get the ability to scan their thumbprint on a vending machine and are given food. Some of the negatives mentioned in class involved the stigma of being in society and having people see you get the food and being embarrassed by knowing that you cannot afford food, so one idea was that the window stayed tinted and then appears once their thumbprint is scanned and shows the available options of food, or if a person put money in, then different food options appear as in candy and snack items compared to real food options which would go to the people who are part of the pantry vending membership. Another idea is using the store front of pantry vending to do the perishable items because there are many necessary food groups that are perishable. I think that the way to decide which foods should given to the people should be based on which ones meet the health requirements for everyday nutrition, such as meeting all the food groups. So any example would be giving the recipient a can of green beans, package of rice, and some peanut butter and bread, just one example, so they meet the requirements of vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. so that the people get the proper nutrition needed. A question i had for the group was how would they decide where to put the vending machines because they would have to take into account the travel some would have to do, one idea i had was placing them next to grocery stores or gas stations because it would be the same as commuting for your groceries which they are doing, but overall i though this was a great idea and could prove very helpful if it is brought into real life. One question I have is could they incorporate using the food donated that can't be used in the vending machines for shelters? i know shelters are always taking donations so the ones that are not put to use with pantry vending could be used at these shelters. Also maybe they could create some relationship with restaurants in the area to use them as sponsorship on the vending machines and get free food donations from them, just an idea.