photo credit: Shandra Back
A woman and girl use a Health To Go vending machine outside the Roseland Public Library, one of Sonoma County’s new 24/7 locations.

Sonoma County is expanding its Health To Go vending machine program, adding four new 24‑hour locations in Petaluma, Sonoma Valley, Roseland and Rohnert Park.

The machines look like standard vending machines, but instead of snacks, they’re stocked with free health and safety supplies such as Narcan, fentanyl test strips, condoms, socks and cable gun locks.

The goal is to make lifesaving tools available at any hour, without cost, paperwork or stigma.

The county launched the program a little over a year ago with three machines. Since then, usage has grown steadily, with almost 13,000 items dispensed, including 2,000 units of Narcan.

Ryan Hart, who manages public health preparedness for the county, said staff used the Healthy Places Index to decide where the new machines should go.

“We look at the Healthy Places Index to determine where specifically in the county potentially has vulnerable populations that could use these,” Hart said.

The program is supported through a mix of county funding and partnerships, including the California Department of Public Health, which provides Narcan and fentanyl test strips, and Veterans Affairs, which donates cable gun locks.

Hart said community interest is growing, and the county is already thinking about what comes next.

“We’re kind of exploring what this could look like into Phase Three," he said. "What’s been really cool to see is the level of engagement from the community, people contacting our office and saying, ‘Hey, we would love to partner with you on this.’”

All seven machines are now up and running — five of them accessible around the clock. The county says it will continue adjusting what’s stocked based on what people actually use.