Roseville High School vending machines have been closed since the latter half of the 2019- 2020 school year. To combat this issue the RJUHSD district has put in place a plan to put temporary food carts on campus for students. 

Ever since the RHS campus shut down in March of 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic, the vending machines spread around campus were emptied, closed and locked up. As school partially went back in session during the spring term of the 2020-21 school year, students found the vending machines unavailable to them. 

With many regulations and changes to school life due to the pandemic, some students believed the closing of the vending machines to be due to COVID. 

However, according to Jay Brown, director of food services at RJUHSD, the closing of the vending machines was not in fact due to COVID concerns.

“The machines are currently shut down because of staffing shortages and mechanical issues. Since the machines are outdated we are in the process of purchasing brand new machines.”

Still, with school coming back to semi-normality in the fall term of the 2021-22 school year, hopefulness from students about their reopening was matched with the metal door that keeps the machines locked. With no further information from the school on why the vending machines were still closed, some students, such as junior Weston Foglia, were left reminiscing about why they enjoyed the vending machines when they were open..

“It was cool to have vending machines. I feel like a lot of people used them to grab snacks in passing periods or if a lunch line was too long to just grab something to eat or drink on their way to do anything.”

Staffing shortages have been a setback for many parts of Roseville High this year. From food services, janitorial staff, athletic coaches and even teachers, the lack of staff affects several aspects of the normal flow at RHS. 

With the mechanical issues of the machines, the school will need to get new machines. The school is hopeful to have the new machines up and running come the start of the 2022-23 school year. If the timeline that is planned works out, the new machines will be opened two years after their initial closing. To put into perspective, current seniors attending RHS will have graduated without having vending machines since their sophomore year.

However, the district implemented and is continuing to implement temporary solutions to make up for the shut down vending machines. School lunches started being free to all students at the beginning of the current school year, providing another quick and easy solution for students to access food throughout their day.

With no known timeline, the district is currently working on a plan to send carts out to the school filled with snacks and beverages for sale until they are able to go forward with their vending program. With similar things such as the Roar Buck Store carts that were rolled around campus in the 2019-20 school year, it can be expected that these vending carts will be rolled around campus by a staff member of RHS during passing periods and lunch.