Author: Editoral Team

A Vending machine, which promotes the snacks as “highly nutritious meals of the future,” was set up in the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.

Nine types of insect snacks, including fried crickets, mole crickets, bamboo worms, diving beetles, locusts and silkworm pupae, are sold for 1,000 yen (about US$8) each. The aim is to contribute to the realization of the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Why Insect Snacks in Ehime?

• Sustainability push: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has been promoting insects as eco-friendly protein since 2020.
• Regional innovation: Ehime Prefecture supports food tech startups and agrifood diversification. Matsuyama, as the largest city in Shikoku, is a natural testbed.
• Tourism angle: The machine attracts curious travelers—especially those visiting Dōgo Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest hot springs, located just a short walk from Matsuyama Station.

Context: Insect Snacks in Japan

• While still niche, edible insects are gaining traction in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, and now regional cities like Matsuyama.
• Other places to try them: Tsukiji Outer Market (Tokyo), Depachika food halls, and specialty izakayas.
• Japan hosts the annual “Insect Cuisine Festival”, and brands like Bento&co and Chirps (Japan branch) distribute nationwide.

Key advantage of eating Insect Snacks:

1. Nutritional Value: Insects like crickets, mealworms, and ants are rich in high-quality protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. They also provide healthy fats, vitamins (such as B12), minerals (like iron and zinc), and fiber, contributing to a balanced diet.
2. Sustainability: Insect farming is much more sustainable compared to traditional livestock farming. Insects require significantly less water, feed, and space, and they produce fewer greenhouse gases. This makes insect-based foods a more environmentally friendly option for protein consumption.
3. Resource Efficiency: Insects convert feed into protein much more efficiently than traditional livestock. For example, crickets need 12 times less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein.
4. Low Risk of Disease Transmission: The risk of diseases transmitted from insects to humans is relatively low compared to that from conventional livestock such as cows, pigs, and chickens, which can carry diseases like swine flu or avian flu.
5. Versatility: Insect snacks come in various forms, including whole insects, insect powders, and mixed into energy bars or chips, making them easy to incorporate into daily diets. Their versatility also extends to different cuisines and cooking methods.
6. Support for Local Economies: In many parts of the world, particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, harvesting insects provides a source of income for local communities. As the global demand for insect-based products grows, this could offer new economic opportunities worldwide.

Other Vending Machine Applications

A biometric vending machine to distribute grains directly to rations recipients has won an award from the WFP Innovation Accelerator as one of the top innovations for helping prevent hunger, India Education Diary reports.

Beneficiaries can use their ration card to claim eligibility using a built-in touchscreen, according to News18.com, and authenticate their identity with biometrics. The GrainATM can reportedly issue 70kg of grains in as little as five minutes with negligible error in measurement.

It has potential use for food-based safety nets, food grain distribution during emergencies, and increasing market access for smallholder farmers.

Ankit Sood, WFP India Head Supply Chain and PDS Unit

Other Vending Machine Applications

Launched in June 2022, the Tiny Art Vending Machine is a whimsical curatorial project by Windsor-based artist Kristina Bradt, transforming a classic gumball dispenser into a portal for affordable, surprise miniature art. Funded by a $3,000 grant from the City of Windsor’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Fund, it commissions local and regional artists to create bite-sized works that fit into vending capsules—evoking childhood nostalgia while democratizing access to original pieces. Bradt, a Sipekne’katik (Mi’kmaq) artist known for her “still life storytelling” that spotlights overlooked objects, aimed to support underrepresented creators and spark joy in the Windsor-Essex community. It’s not just vending—it’s a low-barrier entry to art collecting, with every spin funding future commissions.

How It Works: Twist for a Treasure

• The Machine: A retro-style capsule vendor (repurposed for art) stocked with sealed plastic eggs or tubes. Insert two loonies ($2 CAD? Wait, toonies—two $2 coins for $4 total), give it a crank, and out pops a surprise artwork plus an artist bio card.
• The Thrill: Blind-box mechanics mean no peeking—odds favor variety, but rares (like limited-edition prints) add gamble. Capsules protect pieces during delivery, and the machine’s portable for pop-ups.
• Accessibility Focus: At $4 a pop, it’s cheaper than a coffee, making art “as easy as grabbing a snack.” Bradt emails artists with the fun prompt: “Make tiny art for a vending machine?”—sparking playful, scale-constrained creativity.

The Art Inside: Mini Masterpieces

Initial lineup featured five southwestern Ontario artists, each producing 50–100 pieces in diverse media. Themes? Whimsical, personal, and tiny-scale wonders:

Bradt rotates artists seasonally, ensuring fresh drops—nothing’s “big” here; everything’s designed to fit a 2–3 inch capsule.

Locations and Pop-Ups in Windsor-Essex

The machine’s nomadic, hitting community hotspots to maximize serendipity. Early 2022 stops included markets and festivals; it’s since become a staple for events:

It’s traveled “across the city,” from breweries (nod to her Collective Arts collabs) to public art walks.

Latest Status

Still spinning! Bradt’s project endures as a community anchor—now in its third year, with fresh commissions and ties to her 2024 “366 Prints Challenge” (one print daily for a leap year). CBC coverage in 2022 called it a “treasure trove,” and it’s inspired similar micro-art initiatives in Ontario

Other Vending Machine Applications

The push for campus vending machines to dispense the pregnancy-preventing medication has grown since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

While emergency contraception — which can be used after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — is available without a prescription, it’s often locked up or must be specifically requested at a pharmacy counter.

Some pharmacies don’t have the medication in stock, and finding a pharmacy that does can require driving miles away — another barrier for students without cars.

While students have led most efforts, they’re now finding additional support from public officials.

About Plan B:

Plan B contains a high dose of levonorgestrel, a synthetic hormone similar to progesterone. This ingredient works primarily by preventing or delaying ovulation, thereby reducing the chances of fertilization. It’s important to note that Plan B is effective only before pregnancy is established and does not terminate an existing pregnancy.

One lesser-known fact is that the effectiveness of Plan B in preventing pregnancy diminishes with time after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. It is most effective when taken within 72 hours (3 days), but it can be taken up to 120 hours (5 days) afterward, though with decreased efficacy beyond the initial 72-hour window.

Other Vending Machine Applications

As part of its aggressive fight against the opioid crisis—where accidental overdoses claimed nearly 900 lives in 2021 alone (a 55% spike from 2020)—the County of San Diego launched a Naloxone Distribution Program in 2022.

Naloxone (brand name Narcan) is a fast-acting nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses by restoring breathing, buying critical time for emergency help.

The program’s crown jewel, Free vending machines stocked with naloxone kits and fentanyl test strips, open to anyone 18+ (no ID required). These aren’t pay-to-play; they’re harm reduction lifesavers, aligning with the county’s Comprehensive Harm Reduction Strategy.

The initiative aimed to distribute 33,000 kits by mid-2023 (goal smashed with 33,160+ delivered), and vending machines were a key tool for stigma-free access. Pioneered by the Behavioral Health Services (BHS) Harm Reduction Team, these machines even include on-screen training videos to guide users step-by-step.

The county rolled out 12 machines initially, with upgrades bringing the total to 16 across diverse spots like detention facilities, clinics, and recovery centers. No expansions planned, but they’re heavily used—preliminary data shows steady demand.

These machines have normalized naloxone access, reducing barriers in a county where fentanyl-laced drugs drive 80%+ of overdoses.

Naloxone is a proven life saver in overdose situations and San Diego County Behavioral Health Services and its partners are working hard to expand access. The enhanced distribution of naloxone into the hands of community members is vital in saving lives that might otherwise be lost to overdose.

Nicole Esposito, San Diego’s chief population health officer.

Further notes: Strategic Locations

Naloxone and equivalent machines are often placed in “high-risk” or high-traffic areas where overdoses are more likely to occur or where vulnerable populations gather:

Rural Areas: To bridge the gap in regions where pharmacies are scarce or far away.

Public Health Hubs: Outside hospitals, community health centers, and syringe exchange programs.

High-Risk Zones: Near shelters, parks, libraries, and transit stations.

Nightlife Districts: In areas with bars and clubs to address accidental overdoses from mixed substances.

Benefits & Impacts

• Immediate Access: Time is critical during an overdose. These machines ensure that bystanders can get help instantly without waiting for a pharmacist or doctor.
• Anonymity & Reduced Stigma: Many people hesitate to ask for Naloxone at a counter due to fear of judgment. Vending machines offer a private, non-judgmental way to obtain the medication.
• Cost-Effectiveness: They are significantly cheaper than staffing a 24-hour clinic and prevent costly emergency room visits and fatalities.
• Community Empowerment: They put the power to save lives directly into the hands of friends, family, and strangers who might witness an overdose.

Global Adoption

• United States: Widespread adoption in states like Massachusetts, New York, California, and Ohio. Many are funded by state health departments or non-profits.
• Canada: Cities like Vancouver and Toronto have deployed them extensively as part of their public health response to the opioid epidemic.
• Europe: Growing presence in countries like Germany, France, and the UK, often managed by local NGOs.
• Australia: Piloted in various states to support harm reduction initiatives.

Other Vending Machine Applications

The Battle Creek Homless Shelter has a new vending machine, but it doesn’t offer chips, candy or drinks. Instead it provides people 24/7 access to the anti-overdose medication Narcan with ‘no questions asked.”

Free boxes of of the medication that reverses opioid overdoses are dispensed from the machine, marking the latest effort to make it more accessible to the public as the number of overdoses continues to climb locally and across the nation.

We are very excited to have the Narcan vending machine implemented and to have this medication available to everyone at any time. We have been trying to keep up with demand through personal and online trainings, but we felt that the distribution was suffering because the kits were limited to being handed out person-to-person.

Dawn Smith, executive director of the nonprofit Substance Abuse Council

“Now we feel we have a better solution to get Narcan in the hands of the people who can immediately assist someone in need and remove the barrier of accessibility,” she added.

Each box contains two doses of the medication with instructions for how to administer it, as well as gloves, a rescue mask and resource information for treatment.

“There (are) other locations where you can get Narcan kits, but to have it where you can just go and get it with no questions asked, no forms to fill out, no information needed (is great),” Smith said. “You can just get it for whatever reason you need it, whether it’s for a loved one or a friend, whatever it may be … To remove all those barriers so you can access this medication, we’re really proud of that.”

Other Vending Machine Applications