Brooklyn Emergency Room Fights To Keep Stocking Dipsy Doodles, Kit Kats
In times of stress the natural human response is to stress-eat. This is established medical fact, plain and simple.
Nonetheless, officials at Brooklyn Hospital Center, who know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to matters of the human body, have come under fire for their emergency room vending machines, which almost exclusively carry junk food.
“I saw five vending machines in the ER waiting room,” groused one recent visitor to the hospital. “All of them were filled with junk food and drinks. None of them had healthy alternatives.”
DNAinfo reports that indeed, the machines are stocked with an array of terrible-for-you snacks, including Hawaiian Punch, Fanta, Dipsy Doodles, and ice cream sandwiches.
“We are not responsible for what people eat,” Richard B. Becker, the hospital’s President and CEO shot back at a recent community board meeting. “They make their own choices […] The Brooklyn Hospital Center advocates healthy living in many ways.”
More presciently, Becker pointed out that during “times of crisis” people would rather eat something “delicious.”
And yeah. If you’re stuck waiting for a loved one in the emergency room, what’s gonna make you feel better: crunchy, perfect Cooler Ranch Doritos, or a stale fucking bag of almonds and dried fruit? Also, one would hope that no one is spending enough time and eating enough meals in the emergency room for this to make a significant dent in their dietary regime.
Leave the sick people and their Kit Kats alone.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
