No more fast food ads at schools!

Based in the principle of Capitalism, fast food chains are becoming more and more powerful: especially now that they have access to the “last advertising free outpost of the American life”(Schlosser,51) .In fact , the presence of fast food advertising at schools is the result of intensive marketing efforts in order to target children and adolescents , and a silent collaboration between schools and fast foods chains. However, schools are not the right places for fast food ads because such ads disturb students; affect their performance and sabotage parents’ and instructors ‘efforts for healthier foods.

In the recent years, fast food ads are frequent at schools because the food industry in the US has viewed children and adolescents as a major market force. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers because “they have their own purchasing power, they influence their parents' buying decisions and they are the adult consumers of the future” (Media awareness network). Children and adolescents spend billions of their own dollars annually, influence billions more spent through household food purchases. It is estimated that US adolescents spend $140 billion a year. Children under 12 years of age spend another $25 billion, but may influence another $200 billion of spending per year. Therefore, they become the target of intense and specialized food marketing and advertising efforts. From TV to the internet, it is estimated that over a billion of dollars is spend on children advertising. This budget is probably increasing with the progressive presence of food ads at schools. Just like all roads are good to reach Rome, schools are nowadays part of the “media-saturated environment” (Mary Story and Simone French, the International Journal Of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity).

The presence of fast food advertising at school is the result of a silent collaboration between fast food chains and schools administrations. In fact most ads at schools are promoting companies that have their vending machines, snack bars, or fast food stands in the same school. In a survey done in California, 53%of responding California School Districts reported that their school sold Taco Bell. The corporation between schools and fast food chains is considerably increasing .In fact “in 1990 2% of public schools participating in the national school lunch sold brand name fast foods, by 2003, the number had risen to 65%”(Harris).The frequency of fast foods ads and the extraordinary growth of fast food restaurants at schools is mainly due to the profits schools gain from these companies. Indeed, fast foods chains help school services programs to remain financially stable. Budget shortfalls are forcing school to allow corporations access to students in exchange for badly needed money , and educational materials ”Among districts that have fast foods, 88 % reported using profits to support food service operations. Others said the profits pay for extracurricular activities, athletics, and educational programs” (Bodenhord).The financial profit is actually why school administrations open the doors to fast foods companies , therefore facilitating the corruption of students.

Fast food ads shouldn't be accepted at schools because it can disturb students and therefore affect their grades. Most people admit that attention is the key to a successful academic year. That actually requires a great ability of concentration which itself requires efforts you have to develop in order to forget the external issues(personal problems, personal needs ...).However, the chaos is that schools seem to no more promote concentration by letting fast foods ads access the "last-advertising free outpost of American life.(Schlosser,51). Fast food ads disturb students by taking them from the classroom to the "utopian world", the best imagined place where everything seems perfect. This situation effects student’s performance. Healthy foods affect students’ ability to learn. Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee found that fast foods reduce students’ performance on math and reading .Dr Kerri Tobin, who carried out the research, said it is found “statically significant relationships between higher than average consumption of fast foods and lowered test scores" (Ka, Fast Foods in California high school). Fast food advertising at school not only affects schools performance but also contradict the perspective of healthier foods.


The presence of fast food ads at school sabotage parents and educators efforts to teach healthy eating habits. Aware of the problems related with junk foods such as iron deficiency, anemia, obesity, eating disorders, and dental caries, schools have recently been “publicly” promoting healthy eating among students. However how can schools pass their message if the presence of fast food ads on campus is alarmingly increasing? There is no doubt that such advertisings contradict the perspective of healthier foods .In fact parents have become more aware of the situation. In a survey done by USA Today/Gallup poll “asking parents to rate school lunches or foods in general, just 21%though that they were very nutritious”( Gallup new service). Foods consumed at schools can’t be healthy if they are still served by the “producers of unhealthy foods”. it doesn’t make sense to talk about healthy foods in a place full of fast food ads.


To conclude it is important to notice how fast food use school administrations to reach children and adolescents. They focus on their profits ignoring the consequences of such acts on children ‘s education and health. Therefore won’t forbidding all collaborations between schools and fast food chains be effective?