Miss LifeWalk with Vending Machine at Woody’s
3 Nice Package machines are in place around DFW, including one at Dallas Woody’s
From Staff Reports
Prism Health North Texas this week announced the installation of three Nice Package vending machines offering free condoms at three strategic locations in Dallas-Fort Worth. The locations include an area college, a bar and a retail community space.
The machines were purchased as part of the implementation of a Texas Department of State Health Services grant aimed at HIV and STI infection prevention, according to a PHNTX press release. With rising rates of STI and HIV infection across the country, condoms remain one of the most effective measures for infection prevention, though recent times present financial barriers to regular, safe access to them, the press release notes.
“Condoms are a tried-and-true prevention method, though cost and access continue to be an issue,” said Januari Fox, director of policy, advocacy and community engagement for PHNTX.
PACE Team with Vending Machine at Woody’s
“Vending machines as a means of delivering Nice Packages are accessible, safe, and innovative,” Fox added. “The Nice Packages cannot be tampered with before being distributed, which is a common concern for publicly available free condoms.”
The vending machines are part of a larger strategy by PHNTX’s PACE department to utilize grant funding to maximize the reach and results of preventive programming, according to the press release announcing their placement.
“The location for each of the three machines was strategically selected based upon the surrounding populations, income levels, and health care access,” the press release continued. “By selecting these three community spaces, Nice Package will be directly available to a variety of age, gender and ethnicity demographics.”
Nice Package vending machines can be found at:
• Dallas Woody’s, 4011 Cedar Springs Road in Dallas. The machine is located on the first floor of the bar, replacing an existing cigarette vending machine.
• The Shops at RedBird, 3662 West Camp Wisdom Road in Dallas. The machine is located in the Dallas College Workforce Center at RedBird.
• A local university’s student center, accessible to enrolled students of the university.
“We’re thrilled to have the Nice Package vending machine here at Woody’s,” said Brian Jones, the bar’s general manager.
“It’s a big improvement on the methods of distributing free protection from the past. The machine is tamper proof, offers everything our patrons need and is engaging and fun to use.
“We’ve seen a great reaction from our visitors and are proud to have this amenity for safety and health with us.”
The PHNTX press release pointed out that Texas has the largest population of uninsured individuals in the United States, “making prevention-focused, affordable resource programs like Nice Package essential for protecting and reducing healthcare costs. By preventing new infections with the utilization of condoms, PHNTX aims to reduce the burden of treating infections on the local and state healthcare systems.”
The Nice Package program distributed 154,245 condoms and 330 at-home HIV tests between September 2023 and March of 2024 via the free online ordering and delivery system across the state of Texas.
Marquesse Banks, community engagement manager for PHNTX, said, “Meeting people where they are and reducing stigma for seeking sexual health services as much as possible is key to successful prevention efforts. The discreet design of the machines and the Nice Packages themselves will allow users to engage comfortably without feeling stigma, and with machine usage data being instantly reported to our team, we will be able to make strategic adjustments to their locations.”
Banks added, “A major benefit of this medium is the mobility of the unit to move to higher traffic areas.”
For more information about the Nice Package program, visit FreeNicePackage.com, where users can also order free, discreet condom and at-home HIV test packages to be delivered anywhere in the state of Texas.