From the student union to Peltier and Goaux Halls, vending machines are abundant on campus, offering everything from Coke to Chex Mix to Doritos. Students looking for a quick snack put money into them every day, but where does the money go?
Before the goods can get to the machines, the University must complete a process. Executive Director of Purchasing Terry Dupre and his staff oversee the vending contracts for Nicholls, as well as all purchasing contracts, including bids for food service, property control and maintenance.
“Since we don’t have the capabilities of handling drink and snack vending ourselves, we solicit private companies to do so for us,” Dupre said.  
In order to put machines on campus, companies must negotiate a contract with the University, and with Nicholls being a state institution, regulations forbid private companies from operating on campus without compensating the University in some way.
The open contracts advertise in Advocate and the Louisiana Procurement and Contract Network, a procurement network for state purchasing, making the contract available to thousands of vendors. The vending companies offer different bids on commission rates, which determine the percentage of sales that come back to the University.  Higher bids mean more money for Nicholls.
“We always go for the highest bidder,” Dupre said. “We want the highest amount of money coming back to the University.”
When constructing the contract, Dupre has access to a company’s sales data and a list of available products and machines, which has recently come to include washers and dryers for campus residence halls. University Purchasing partners with one company to offer all vending, which according to Dupre, benefits Nicholls.
“Sales are grouped together,” Dupre said. “Combining them allows for a higher profit margin, which means higher commission for the University.”
The current vendor for Nicholls is Canteen M & M Sales of Lafayette. Each month, sales are compiled, and an invoice is sent to the company calculating the commission owed to Nicholls. For the fiscal year 2010-2011, Nicholls received $55,392 in commission for vending services.
Profits earned through vending go to the Auxiliary Services budget. Brenda Haskins heads the Office of Auxiliary Services, which oversees the University’s residence halls, bookstore, student union, post office, food service and other campus amenities. According to Haskins, the budget is used for everything from adding new services to maintaining older ones, and the money earned from vending goes back into improving student facilities.
“I’m always alert to problems with machines and down time,” Haskins said. “I want to make sure students are getting the best service.”
Vending profits make up only a small portion of the seven to eight million dollar budget, Haskins said, but they do help bring in extra revenue to put on reserve for maintenance and emergencies. The office cannot operate at a loss, so Haskins capitalizes on any extra funds to add to the budget, which comes primarily from student fees rather than state funding.
“We make sure those machines are stocked for summer camps and other things on campus,” Haskins said. “Any revenue helps, so we do not disregard anything.”