One airport vending machine offers food that’s better than first class. Eating well can be difficult during travel, especially on planes and in airports.
- You don’t get much in coach. American Airlines even no longer sells much in coach. And it’s not exactly healthy stuff when they do.
- Domestic first class meals are quite bad. United is making improvements but their business class meals are quite bad. Delta’s meals lag both domestically and internationally.
- Every airport restaurant except Tortas Frontera is bad by design.
American Airlines Served This To Me In First Class
American Airlines Served This In First Class As An Entree
Flight attendant and long time writer Heather Poole recommends one vending machine for “a quick, healthy, delicious meal” as you pass through the airport.
Heather posted a picture of her sitting in the jump seat and eating a Farmer’s Fridge salad with the caption: “New York – Los Angeles ✈️ Farmer’s Fridge chicken Caesar salad is so good it’s hard to believe I bought it from a vending machine at JFK airport. Way better than first class food. Also, I wasn’t paid to say this. Just sharing good stuff with flight attendant friends.
Flight attendants who haven’t had a raise in years (like at United) often live off of stealing first class snacks. Bang for your buck is a must. Airlines don’t feed them well, and they often don’t have time between flights for a meal in any case. They can get in trouble stopping at an overpriced airport restaurant and picking up something to go if they’re on a tight conection.
Poole recommends Farmers Fridge machines. These machines are precisely the food on offer at the Chase Sapphire Terrace in the Austin airport which will be closing permanently in a few months. You make your vending machine selections, and just don’t have to pay, so you can take as much as you wish.
Honestly, it’s not bad stuff – salads, noodles, and the like and generally healthy options – considering it’s prepackaged meals from a vending machine. To be sure, vending machine food can be good. I grew up in New York when there were still Horn & Hardart automats in the city, and food quality hadn’t yet declined. But in the United States today it isn’t. The next best you’re going to do at the airport, probably (and this isn’t exactly healthy), is a Sprinkles cupcake and I just can’t get the jingle out of my head.
Likely as junky as the junk food on the aircraft .
I can do better at home , eat at home , and bring some with me to eat at the airport .
Then I can do better at the destination .
Framers Fridge vending is excellent. I fully agree with Gary on this. It’s my go-to for great carry-on food. I especially love the noodles and wish they’d stick more of them as often they’re sold out. I’m hoping they continue to expand placement of their vending to more airports and more locations within those airports.
I was shocked when it made it past security but in ATL, I hit the Panda Express near the airport . Got a drink on the other side of TSA. Since then, I have brought thru Publix subs, Starbucks protein boxes, and all sorts of homemade sandwiches. As long as you leave the liquid and the peanuts at home, no one cares. But don’t bring a drink!
Agree! A stop at Publix’ deli counter on the way to the airport is a great option for those who live in cities that have Publix Supermarkets!
We do that whenever we visit friends & family Florida or North Carolina!
Read the ingredients on the back of Farmers Fridge items and you probably won’t think they’re all that healthy anymore.
I’ve seen these at MSP and forgot the other airport. But yeah, quite healthy and somewhat affordable compared to other options.
Here’s a link to their airport locations:
https://www.farmersfridge.com/blog/airport-locations/
I agree that Farmer’s Fridge items are of excellent quality. Many of the items are healthy, too. I tried them when I was in JFK three months ago. They definitely should add more vending machines in more locations.
Yes. Bring your own food if you want to eat. I’ll bring 2 or 3 nice sandwiches, chips, cookies.
I get wanting to plug the old Tortas Fronteras article for clicks whenever possible….but it’s not even the best airport restaurant in the US
One Flew South in ATL >>>>
I’ve grown very accustomed to making a market stop before I fly, and pack things which will keep me nourished and happy on most flights…e.g., protein bars, “snack packs,” crackers, or even jerkey…and just buy a drink or two in the airport before boarding. I fly coach so it’s that or nothing; suits me just fine.
Still not healthy, their stuff is high on sodium and some items have too many ingredients to be considered natural and healthy.
I flew BDL-DUB return recently. The meals served made AA food seem good.
No photo of the vending machine. No photo of the good. No mention of anything other than a Caesar salad and noodles. No mention of prices.
Weak story. I’ll pass on this weak vending machine idea.
We like the Spare Rib and MacnCheese Lunch/Dinner in AA 1st. We find the food generally pretty good.
The only food I thought was “good” in biz was on Qatar and Singapore Airlines. I got food poisoning last year on UA flight EWR-CPT. In biz class. AA food just as bad. Delta 1 passable. I honestly do not fly any airline for the food.
Japanese vending machine culture should come to the USA. You don’t have to tip a vending machine (yet),
IMO, the very significant decline in service, food, and plane environmental quality is deliberate. Who is going to stop them? Who will require that paying customers, already at the mercy of anything the airlines decide to do, come before the utterly egregious profits?
I audited Farmers’ Fridge’s food safety set-up in their Chicago assembly facility a number of years ago, when they were producing for their airport vending machines without a certification to a food safety standard. Due to confidentiality, I cannot go into details, so let me say that I walked out of there without much confidence.
More than 25 years ago when my wife and I were flying from LGA to MCI, we would stop at Zabar’s or a nearby supermarket for our meal aboard the plane. It’s remarkable that only now, evidently, are passengers discovering a reasonable, convenient way to avoid what passes for food on many airplanes nowadays.
That many years ago the few vending machines offered little more than sodas, candy bars and small packs of chips or baked goods of dubious quality.
Love the Farmer’s Fridge. Good, healthy choices for a light meal on the plane. I’m a flight attendant and wish we’d serve this on the plane!
It’s actually great stuff! It’s also a saving grace late nights when everything else is either closed or junk food. The chai pudding is A+!