McDonald's
tricks cash-strapped schools into serving up their own students.
When
it comes to predatory marketing to children, nobody’s lovin’ it like McDonald’s.
In
addition to selling unhealthy food, the chain lures kids in with toys and a
playground — and its spokesperson is a clown. But it’s the fast food giant’s
marketing to captive audiences at schools that really takes the cake.
This
came to my attention when I saw photos of “McSchool Night” on Facebook. A woman
I know was boasting that her son had flipped burgers at the event.
What’s
McSchool Night? Also called “McTeacher’s Night,” it’s what the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood calls “a
marketing ploy disguised as a school fundraiser.”
McDonald’s
— like all food marketers — knows that children develop eating habits and brand
loyalties that can last a lifetime. The company wants kids to build warm and
happy memories now so they associate the Golden Arches with nostalgia later on.
The sooner they get into the habit of eating at the chain, the better.
Here’s
how it works at McSchool Nights.
The school invites students and their families to have dinner at a local McDonald’s on a certain night, when a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the school. The amount varies, but it’s typically not more than 10 to 20 percent.
When
the students arrive at the restaurant, they find their teachers behind the
registers asking, “Do you want fries with that?” They experience a fun-filled
meal with their friends. And, of course, their parents spend money.
In
practice, these shindigs often raise only about $1 per student, according to one critical study. For that money, parents could’ve kicked in
a buck each for their kids to do something else fun without being marketed to.
I’ll
be honest: I understand exactly how fun McTeacher’s Night must
be.
My
health-conscious parents rarely got us fast food, so McDonald’s was a big treat
in our house. If I’d gotten to see my teacher dressed up in a McDonald’s
uniform while eating junk and playing with my friends, I would’ve loved it.
Of
course, I would have also liked to watch R-rated movies, skip school whenever I
felt like it, and eat birthday cake every day for breakfast. And my parents
would have never allowed any of that.
Nor
would I as a parent. Being a grownup means protecting children from choices
they’re not yet mature enough to make for themselves.
Surely,
schools can find a healthier way for children to have fun while raising money
for their education. Or even a not-so-healthy way that lets the kids eat treats
without serving them up to a corporation peddling junk.
OtherWords
columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our
Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It. OtherWords.org.