Statement: Janis Sanchez, School Nurse Percy Julian Middle School

Delivered May 20, 2010 at the McDonald's Shareholders' Meeting

Good morning and thank you for this opportunity this morning.  My name is Janis Sanchez, and I am a certified school nurse at Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park. On a daily basis, I am confronted with the challenge of educating kids on healthier eating habits in the middle of a food and media landscape that does not hold their health as a priority. Our entire school district makes every effort to create a healthy food environment:  by eliminating vending machines in our buildings, and have stopped the sales of candy and ice cream, and are continually working to teach the children about the farm to table concept.  However, despite all our efforts, our students continue to suffer a range of diet-related illness and continue to eat too much McDonald’s-style fast food.

Many of our students come from lower-income families whose parents work early mornings and late nights to make ends meet. On their walk to school they must pass a McDonalds’s as well as other fast food franchises and often stop to eat breakfast at McDonald’s before coming to school. After school on their way home, students opt to use saved lunch money for a snack at McDonald’s.

We as parents, health educators and children’s advocates can’t match McDonald’s marketing might. We encourage parents to shut the door to your advertising which is directed at our children, find healthier food choices that are within their means, and account for daily physical exercise. But your corporation does these hard-working, well-meaning parents and educators no favors. Your marketing strategies take advantage of every location that working parents can’t constantly monitor, to undermine the food and nutrition values parents and health educators work so hard to instill.

Mr. Skinner, when will McDonald’s put a stop to the marketing that hooks our kids on foods that we know are not healthy and are making them sick?