When the government allowed corporations into the schools with soda and snack machines in exchange for a kickback in the 80s, any hope of a bureaucrat looking out for the kids’ health was dead. Once they could use the excuse that most kids weren’t making use of a subsidized nutritious lunch(very loosely using the phrase) because they were bringing their own or eating their lunch from the machines, they didn’t even need to try any longer.

https://www.nuvending.co.uk/news/history-of-vending-machines-in-schools/ (Ironically, a post from a corporation installing the vending machines points but it makes the necessary points)