McDonald’s pitches on kid’s report cards

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: McDonald’s has decided to stop sponsoring Happy Meals as rewards for children with good grades and attendance records in elementary schools in Seminole County, Florida.

The “food prize” programme, as it was called, for students of the Seminole County Public Schools in kindergarten through fifth grade was sponsored by the owners of the McDonald’s restaurants. The decision to end the promotions for the programme, appearing on children’s report-card jackets, came from executives at McDonald’s USA, part of the McDonald’s Corp, the world’s largest fast-food business.

The sponsorship, between the restaurant owners and the Seminole County school board, drew attention amid an outcry over childhood obesity and junk food diets because a fast-food chain was tying its products to academic performance. It also generated controversy because McDonald’s USA had agreed to curb its advertising to children.

The decision was made “because we believe the focus should be on the importance of a good education,” William Whitman, senior director for communications and public affairs at McDonald’s USA in Oak Brook, Illinois, said. “McDonald’s will cover the cost to reprint the report-card jackets,” he added.

The reward programme, called Made the Grade, will continue, Whitman said, because the local restaurant owners agreed in September that it would run through the current school year.