Hero Image

UC Healthy Vending Policy

The University of California Global Food Initiative Healthy Vending Work Group, led by NPI from 2015-2018, worked to improve access to healthy food and beverage options sold in vending machines for students and employees throughout the entire UC system. Through research of existing healthy vending policies and extensive outreach with stakeholder groups throughout UC, in 2018 the work group developed the UC Healthy Vending Guidelines, a Best Practices Implementation Toolkit, and additional resources for UC campuses and other institutions interested in adopting healthy vending policies.

The Healthy Vending Guidelines provide a consistent set of nutrition criteria and recommended implementation procedures for all UCs to follow. In 2024, the guidelines were incorporated into the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, under the Health and Wellbeing section.

UC Healthy Vending Materials

Final Policy

Additional resources created by the UC Healthy Vending Work Group are available for download, below. These may be useful during different stages of policy development and implementation. All are welcome to use and adapt the materials to fit the needs of their own organization. Please attribute credit to the UC Global Food Initiative Healthy Vending Policy Work Group, if using one of our developed materials.

Past Policy Materials

Implementation and Other Support Materials

  • Best practices implementation toolkit
    This toolkit contains useful information for implementing the healthy vending guidelines (whether being done voluntarily or formalized as a policy) and includes topics around meeting with vendors, product promotion, forming partnerships and other information to help you successfully add healthy products to your vending machines. It also gives more detail about the purpose and methodology behind the policy and toolkit.
  • Elevator pitch and Business case
    The elevator pitch and business case are shorter pieces that were originally developed to help explain why a systemwide policy is needed. Either one can be adapted to the needs of your own campus, whether you are working on adopting your own formalized policy or garnering support to voluntarily implement guidelines.
  • Nutrition calculator
    This calculator was originally developed to help UC campuses determine if their vended snack, entrée, or meal product met the previous version of the UC Healthy Vending nutrition standards, however it no longer reflects current UC Healthy Vending standards. This can be adapted to the needs and policies of your own campus.

Presentations, Publications, News & Media

For Questions or Comments