As kids across the country have started their new school years, it will come as no surprise to hear that McDonald's has been right there to welcome them back. Despite McDonald's CEO Don Thompson's unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, the fast food corporation's brand ambassador keeps showing up. And, echoing this predatory marketing in schools, the burger giant has been promoting its free "wholesome" back-to-school breakfast in stores in California and Nevada. Targeting kids with these so-called healthy options -- aka Egg White McMuffins -- is yet another way McDonald's seeks to hook kids for life to its junk food.
But we are working with moms across the country who are rising up to organize their communities to kick McDonald's out of their schools. Check out the powerful posts below, written by two moms from our #MomsNotLovinIt network. They guide parents on how to take on junk-food marketing in schools and toy giveaways.
Want to take on junk food at your kid's school? Read this post by Stacy Whitman (from her blog "School-Bites") where she advises parents not to let fear stop them and to focus on the big picture. Here's an excerpt:
"My own biggest mistake has been not recruiting other parents to join the fight. I really just haven't known how to best identify and engage them. This guide Creating Healthy Schools: Tips & Tricks for Using Grassroots Organizing to Protect Kids from Fast Food Marketing from Corporate Accountability International has some fantastic tips for getting others on board..."
And, in Casey Hinds' post (from her blog US Healthy Kids), she writes about how junk-food marketing -- and Ronald McDonald's key brand ambassador Ronald McDonald -- has negatively impacted our food culture. Here's an excerpt from her post What was left out of the latest dinner debate:
"Marketing has contributed to the difficulty of families being able to enjoy home-cooked meals together. Today's generation of parents grew up hearing the "You Deserve a Break Today" message in McDonald's ads and seeing images which implied families are much happier when they eat fast food instead of a home-cooked meal. We have also seen a phenomenal increase in the amount of money spent on marketing to children [from $100 million in 1983 to $17 billion in 2014] ... We don't put up with Joe Camel working to undermine parents anymore and we shouldn't put up with it from Ronald McDonald."
Take action: You can do your part to kick McDonald’s out of kids' schools right now. Tell CEO Don Thompson to take its brand huckster Ronald McDonald out of schools!
Hanna Saltzman is Campaign Organizer for Challenge Corporate Abuse of our Food