More than a year after McDonald’s announced plans to remove sodas from Happy Meals, the folks at Wendy’s have reportedly decided that they should also stop including the sugary drinks in their kids’ meals.
While we’re still waiting for confirmation about this menu change from the fast food chain, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and other groups are reporting that the Ohio-based business is joining McDonald’s, Subway, Chipotle, Arby’s, and Panera on the list of eateries that don’t serve soda with kids’ meals.
If true, Burger King would remain as the only one of the big three burger chains to still include soda (or pop, Coke, cola, fizzy brown stuff) in the meals for junior diners.
“While parents bear most of the responsibility for feeding their children well, restaurant chains also need to do their part,” said CSPI senior nutrition policy counsel Jessica Almy in a statement. “Restaurants should not be setting parents up for a fight by bundling soda with meal options designed for kids.”
According to CSPI, the Wendy’s menu change came about after shareholders from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility filed a resolution with the company regarding soda in kids’ meals. ICCR subsequently withdrew the resolution after Wendy’s agreed to rethink the inclusion of soda in kids’ meals.
“We applaud Wendy’s for prioritizing children’s health and providing more nutritious beverage options,” said ICCR member Fr. Michael Crosby of the Wisconsin/Iowa/Minnesota Coalition for Responsible Investment. “Beyond the obvious health risks for kids is the reputational risk these unhealthy drinks carry for the company. As their investors, we are pleased to see them address this important concern.”
We’ve sent multiple e-mails to Wendy’s reps asking for confirmation of this menu change but have yet to hear anything back. If we do, we’ll update this story.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist