Counting on the push for healthful snacks

This, of course, is what the vending company was counting on. “It doesn’t hurt when the mayor and the president are behind your business plan,’’ says Bill Cowin, the franchisee for the Boston area. FHV machines are currently in about 20 sites here, including health clubs, after-school programs, and private schools.

At the FHV machine at Cristo Rey High School in Dorchester recently, students Deandra Turner and Jasmine Laing are buying snacks in the basement cafeteria. “When we heard it was going to be healthy food, we thought it would be nasty,’’ says Turner. “But I love these,’’ she continues, pointing to Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips. Neither misses the old machine. But student Roberto Rodriguez isn’t so sure. “I liked the old snacks better — the Pop-Tarts and soda,’’ he says. As he points out, “There’s a Rite-Aid down the block, and if people want that, they can get it.’’

No one ever said you could put junk food completely out of kids’ reach.

In the lobby of the Healthworks Foundation in Codman Square, outside the gym, Doreen Treacy is positively kvelling. “Isn’t this the most exciting vending machine you’ve ever seen?’’ asks Treacy, director of the DotWell Civic Health Institute. She gestures toward Cheddar Popchips, Back to Nature Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snyder’s Pretzels, and Pirate’s Booty. Lauren Broadhurst, executive director of the Healthworks Foundation, says that her initial approach, when FHV came in, was “a little rigid.’’ Now, she says, she’s backed off a little, recognizing that “Pirate’s Booty is less processed than Cheetos… . It’s important to take baby steps.’’