First US Pizza ATM to Explore Vegan Options

Already a sensation in France, the first pizza ATM—an automated 24-hour vending machine loaded with pizzas that are baked upon request—was just installed on campus at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. While the machine will be stocked with vegan dough and sauce, none of the premade pizzas available are currently vegan. However, Xavier Dining Marketing Director Jennifer Paiotti told VegNews that the university is dedicated to understanding its students dietary wants and wishes and “will utilize social media to find what our students would like in terms of pizza variety (vegan, vegetarian, and avoiding gluten) to the best of our abilities.” Students across the country are increasingly demanding more vegan options—which have grown by 63 percent since 2013—as evident at Stanford University, where more than a quarter of the student body pledged to abstain from meat on Mondays, and at the University of California, Los Angeles and Appalachian State University, where news outlets at both campuses have begun covering the topic of veganism extensively.