Healthy snacks on Brussels metro stations

NEW vending machines at Schuman, Montgomery and Arts-Loi metro stations in Brussels will soon be offering only healthy food.

The city’s public transport operator Stib is installing the new machines after MP Thomas Naessens (Ecolo) said in Parliament that only junk food was currently available on metro platforms.

“It sometimes happens that I take the metro and get hungry or thirsty, but the existing vending machines only offer industrial food with too much sugar or salt,” Naessens told the Bruzz broadcaster.

In 2023, Brussels’ regional authorities decided to put out to tender contracts for vending machines that provided healthy food and drink for Stib metro stations.  They received an offer from one bidder in June, said Elke Van den Brandt from the Green Party who heads the Transport department.

“Stib met the applicant and agreed to carry out a trial in three stations,” Van den Brandt stated. “The test will start as soon as they are ready.”  The new machines are due to be installed in February.

“With this, we do not want to say who should eat what, but everyone should have the opportunity to choose healthy food,” Naessens explained.

“These new vending machines fit in with Good Food, the regional vision of sustainable and quality food that is often also local.”

The Transport department has yet to confirm how long the Schuman, Arts-Loi and Montgomery pilot scheme will last, although sources revealed that further stations could soon be receiving vending machines with healthy options. The public tender was ongoing, they added, and potential suppliers for other metro stations, could still apply via the Stib website.

“Personally, I would like to go even further by also looking at the food available at metro station outlets,” Naessens added.