You know what they say – you are what you eat. Unfortunately, no matter how healthy a breakfast or snack mom prepares for her kids to eat during recess, most kids prefer the calorie laden, coloring infested snacks and junk food that are readily available in schools through vending machines that wouldn’t think twice about swallowing those quarters. These vending machines are pretty much dumbed down, as the ultimate objective would be to get as much profit as possible. Horizon Software thinks otherwise though, providing smart vending machines that do not aim to eat up your child’s allowance, but instead reporting each and every purchase your child makes from the machine itself.

This means parents will be able to go online and track what exactly their kids have been spending on in school, as well as what they’re actually eating. The child will type on the PIN pad or use a prepaid card to make a purchase, and information of that particular purchase will be logged and tracked via www.mealpayplus.com. In fact, the Healthy Vending Machine also stores information on the nutritional value of each food item purchased, letting you know whether you need to balance up the food pyramid for dinner when your kid gets home.

What do you think of such a device? If you’re a concerned parent who do not want to see your child being affected by the obesity epidemic, perhaps you could have a talk with your child’s school principal on installing one of these in school.

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