Concession stands are present at nearly every fun event, from outdoor fairs to football games. One thing most concession stands have in common is the menu. They typically consist of unhealthy, greasy and fattening foods. As America’s awareness of the health complications of this type of food grows, why aren’t concession stands changing those menus?
It’s Cheaper to Serve Unhealthy Foods
Image via NCPA Blog
The biggest reason that concession stand foods are unhealthy is because they’re cheaper. When foods can be purchased inexpensively in bulk and sold for a huge profit, the concession stand owner makes a lot of money. Serving greasy hamburgers on buns costs less than serving club sandwiches on whole wheat bread so the concession stand is getting a larger return on their investment. One artist, Jonathan Blaustein, set out not long ago to see what kind of food he could purchase for a dollar and received some interesting results.
In the unhealthy category, he was able to purchase a double cheeseburger from a local fast food chain, and in the grocery store he purchased 10 packages of flavored noodles. When he searched for healthy foods, the haul was much less: 10 fresh blueberries, 1 organic grapefruit or a handful of organic rice. This seems to draw the conclusion that most cheap foods are the unhealthy variety, and are always more likely to be served at concession stands.
It’s Easier to Prepare
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Concession foods are mostly fried, so it’s easy to prepare; the worker just drops it into hot grease for a few minutes and it’s done. Healthier food would need to be prepared and because it’s not all fried, it would require many different preparation techniques. This would take longer to prepare than the unhealthy food, which may result in fewer profits. Concession stand owners aren’t willing to take the time to train their employees to create healthy food when it would result in a loss of profits.
People are More Willing to Buy Unhealthy Foods
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Many people will choose the unhealthy food over the healthy food; a cheeseburger with all the fixings will sound better to them than grilled fish and vegetables. Concession stands want to sell the foods that more people are willing to purchase and unfortunately, that food is the most unhealthy. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that many people choose unhealthy foods because of the lower cost, convenience and ease. So if you’re accustomed to purchasing cheeseburgers, hotdogs and corn dogs, you’re not likely to change those habits when you’re going to the concession stand.
So when you have Sugarland tickets or you’re attending the town football game, pack your own tasty treats rather than relying on the concession stands. Prepare healthy wraps or sandwiches, pack fruit juice or water, and add fun snacks like healthy oatmeal cookies or dried fruits. This way, when you or your family get hungry, you can have healthy, great food even when everyone else is choosing the deep-fried, unhealthy options.
