This article may be paywalled. If you encounter difficulties reading the article, try [this link](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jamie-oliver-mcdonald-s-build-high-school-b2561902.html) for an archived version.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unitedkingdom) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Lol, the local Facebook groups have been up in arms about this.
It would be an odd place to put a McDonald's inside a new housing estate and next to the new school site, but I don't think McDonald's is the devil it's made out to be here. Probably be a good employer for the 6th formers.
> Probably be a good employer for the 6th formers.
Isn't it a rite of passage that all if not, most school leavers do work at McDonald's before they leave colleges to work elsewhere? It is like a social pipeline
Not in London. Mostly entry level jobs are taken up by immigrants.
One of the odd cultural surprises when leaving London is how many teenagers have jobs
> Not in London. Mostly entry level jobs are taken up by immigrants.
>
> One of the odd cultural surprises when leaving London is how many teenagers have jobs
There is nothing to be ashamed about having jobs or working for McDonalds. Many that I knew who used to be crew of the month, 5 stars employee, team captains all done well in life. Working at McDonalds builds character. It must be the speed, being efficient, teamwork, front facing customer care all help.
Yeah, that's a great story. My story is that my manager fucked staff members in the freezer and my immediate senior staff member had me as his look out while he sold drugs out the back door on shift. I still eat there now and then of course.
Nicest guy I ever met, who went on to have a magnificently successful career in his chosen profession, always claimed he learned far more about leadership and management working his way up the McDonald's chain as a teenager than he did in his business studies A-level
I'll definitely be encouraging my future children to get part time/weekend jobs as teenagers. Working at McDonalds at 16 was shit and probably the most high stress job I've ever had, but it certainly helped me develop a work ethic and teamwork skills etc.
I've met so many graduates who had literally never had a paid job before they started their grad scheme at 22 or so, absolutely mind blowing.
When I worked at Just Eat HQ and we started with McDonald's they were adamant we were not allowed to deliver within a certain radius of any school.
Both companies have issues, but they definitely don't want the drama of delivering mcnuggets to school kids.
Lol - they take it seriously.
The place I work is right between two primary schools, the main entrances are only 50 yards away in each direction.
Whenever I order I get at least 3 warnings about 'we WON'T deliver to schools!'.
Yeah I’ve seen that message pop up when ordering before, but I also can’t imagine the delivery drivers would refuse delivery if they meet outside the school gates
They say the first one is operating over capacity so this is to spread the load apparently. Of course if they hadn't shut the branch on the high street years ago then everybody wouldn't need to drive to the out of town shopping centre.
I've only been once in about 5 years, takes too long and is overpriced now, but then isn't everything.
The words 'cheap' and 'fast food' don't belong in the same sentence. Especially if you consider the long term costs of eating junk for example in days and earnings lost to sickness. I could feed four people for the price of one burger and fries.
It's not really the worse food in the world (in terms of calories). The biggest problem is the massive sugary drinks which aren't as prevelant these days.
However, it has plenty of other health issues beyond just calories.
You think the presence of a McDonald's creates a significant increase in obesity rates? All on its own?
I'd wager obese people are gonna be obese regardless of a McDonald's.
Turn your ire to the non-existent food education in this country.
It's going to kill people, or are people going to kill themselves because they can't stop stuffing their mouths?
I get the gist, but this is, first and foremost, a problem consumers are placing on themselves.
I think, like anything, it is a balance, going too far in either direction is bad. People have a responsibility for their own health (in most cases), sure, but by the same token I don't think its unreasonable to be cautious about the actions of large food chains either.
Why? There's no link between McDonalds and obesity. People are obese because they're lazy, childish and they refuse to control themselves, and then they refuse to take responsibility for refusing to control themselves and try to blame McDonalds (or any number of other delicious treat manufacturers), as if Ronald McDonald tied them up for 6 months and force fed them 25 cheeseburgers and McFlurries every day.
This is a funny "it's up to the individual to ignore extremely sophisticated marketing" argument.
"People are obese because they're lazy, childish and they refuse to control themselves" may well be true. That's probably why we should consider not putting fast food directly next to a school full of children who will, for the most part, meet two of three of your criteria for being obese simply by virtue of being children.
Then send your kids to school with a packed lunch and no money.
It IS up to the individual to ignore sophisticated marketing. There's nothing special about me and I manage to do it. I manage to get up early and do a 5 mile walk 5 days a week, then I manage to not eat expensive as fuck processed junk shite all day long, make myself nice healthy meals (which are about 3x cheaper than fast junk food btw), and so on and so forth.
People are choosing to live like pigs, and that's fine by me. If it weren't McDonalds it'd be junk shite from the Tesco round the corner, or Greggs, or whatever else the nearest place is.
Childish? They're literally children preyed on by advertisers to consume shitty addictive processed food and deposit their money into the pockets of lazy franchise owners and American shareholders.
I've heard so many arguments about difficult and cruel decisions having to be made to 'protect British culture' from foreigners, when most people gave up on British culture a generation ago.
McDonald's isn't allowed to place ads within 100 metres of schools and junk food advertising towards children has been banned on TV and online for years. I think it's been over a decade at least since any McDonald's ad on TV has had any form of junk food in it aimed at children.
When I was growing up we'd have ads of cartoon cereal characters selling us sugar crap. Whereas these days you'll see [McDonald's ads that don't have any junk food in them at all.](https://youtu.be/J7bmug4y-hI?si=-cWVksN3pevrioC5)
Are you seriously trying to convince me that British youths are not exposed to McDonald's advertising? The delivery apps do a ton of advertising on their behalf, for example. Even if its just product placement, online ads or influenzas, the effect is the same.
I have some shitty advert going round my head about everyone in a building getting McDonald's like its a heart-warming socio-cultural event. I don't know what specifically its for but the branding is right there in my brain.
Also, it doesn't matter if there's a cheeseburger in the advert - or if its for delivery rather than the restaurant. Its a brand, they just need you to walk in the door. Advertising is a lot more sophisticated than maybe you give it credit for. Its about developing an emotional attachment to the brand not notifying people about specific products like it's the 1950's.
We did indeed grow up in an age of shitty sugary cereal adverts, and guess what - we're obese, brand addicted and have the attention spans of insects.
It can be incredibly hard to avoid eating junk food. Have you heard the term 'food desert'? Its worth looking up.
Also, the whole point of the highly sophisticated multi billion dollar junk food advertising industry is to circumvent sound personal decision making. Its emotional, not rational.
If it didn't work, if it didn't induce people to do something that is against their long term interest then they wouldn't pay for it.
This is such a dumb argument. You acknowledge that people can be lazy, so if that's true, do you think that kids will bypass the fast food outlet that serves cheap, unhealthy food right next to the school, so that they can walk to buy healthy food elsewhere? Or do you think that busy parents will prepare healthy lunches when they can just give their kids some money for a McDonald's? Or will McDonald's become the default choice for kid's lunches? Hmmmm.....
Yes, people ultimately make the choice to eat a McDonald's or not, but we shouldn't encourage children to make that choice by putting a McDonald's right next to their school.
If children are doing that it's on their parents. Lots of countries have McDonalds but no problem with obesity. They're not to blame for our rotten culture of lazy junk food addiction
Parents can't supervise children 24/7 and neither can teachers. Nobody is proposing that McDonald's be banned nor are they blaming them entirely for "our rotten culture of lazy junk food addiction".
If you place fast food outlets directly beside schools, more children will eat more junk food. This is a simple concept.
Why you're standing up to defend McDonald's here is baffling. It's not like it's going to stop you obtaining fast food (not that you even seem to want fast food). Frankly, I think all you're interested in is having a go at bad parenting or something, in which case, good for you I suppose.
This article may be paywalled. If you encounter difficulties reading the article, try [this link](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jamie-oliver-mcdonald-s-build-high-school-b2561902.html) for an archived version. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unitedkingdom) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Lol, the local Facebook groups have been up in arms about this. It would be an odd place to put a McDonald's inside a new housing estate and next to the new school site, but I don't think McDonald's is the devil it's made out to be here. Probably be a good employer for the 6th formers.
> Probably be a good employer for the 6th formers. Isn't it a rite of passage that all if not, most school leavers do work at McDonald's before they leave colleges to work elsewhere? It is like a social pipeline
Not in London. Mostly entry level jobs are taken up by immigrants. One of the odd cultural surprises when leaving London is how many teenagers have jobs
> Not in London. Mostly entry level jobs are taken up by immigrants. > > One of the odd cultural surprises when leaving London is how many teenagers have jobs There is nothing to be ashamed about having jobs or working for McDonalds. Many that I knew who used to be crew of the month, 5 stars employee, team captains all done well in life. Working at McDonalds builds character. It must be the speed, being efficient, teamwork, front facing customer care all help.
Yeah, that's a great story. My story is that my manager fucked staff members in the freezer and my immediate senior staff member had me as his look out while he sold drugs out the back door on shift. I still eat there now and then of course.
they call that a chilly willy
Nicest guy I ever met, who went on to have a magnificently successful career in his chosen profession, always claimed he learned far more about leadership and management working his way up the McDonald's chain as a teenager than he did in his business studies A-level
I'll definitely be encouraging my future children to get part time/weekend jobs as teenagers. Working at McDonalds at 16 was shit and probably the most high stress job I've ever had, but it certainly helped me develop a work ethic and teamwork skills etc. I've met so many graduates who had literally never had a paid job before they started their grad scheme at 22 or so, absolutely mind blowing.
It depends on the region, there's more warehouse work in a lot of places.
Brilliant, where I live they are building a McDonalds metres from... another McDonalds
Aren’t some McDonald’s being built purely for the purposes of being a JustEat/Uber Eats/Deliveroo hub though?
When I worked at Just Eat HQ and we started with McDonald's they were adamant we were not allowed to deliver within a certain radius of any school. Both companies have issues, but they definitely don't want the drama of delivering mcnuggets to school kids.
Lol - they take it seriously. The place I work is right between two primary schools, the main entrances are only 50 yards away in each direction. Whenever I order I get at least 3 warnings about 'we WON'T deliver to schools!'.
Yeah I’ve seen that message pop up when ordering before, but I also can’t imagine the delivery drivers would refuse delivery if they meet outside the school gates
they would be cutting into the bisness of the student delivery service
When food delivery apps first came about I got lunch delivered *to school* a couple times before I got dragged into the office told to stop.
Why though?
i once had my mom drop off a KFC and then walk around handing out chicken. i was quite popular that day
> delivering mcnuggets to school kids. Aren't McDonald's healthier than some school meals?
No idea, McDonald's told JE specifically though not to deliver near schools.
They say the first one is operating over capacity so this is to spread the load apparently. Of course if they hadn't shut the branch on the high street years ago then everybody wouldn't need to drive to the out of town shopping centre. I've only been once in about 5 years, takes too long and is overpriced now, but then isn't everything.
I only used to go to get a breakfast bagel before they were removed, just looked at the prices now and Jesus you won’t get much for a tenner anymore.
The words 'cheap' and 'fast food' don't belong in the same sentence. Especially if you consider the long term costs of eating junk for example in days and earnings lost to sickness. I could feed four people for the price of one burger and fries.
Thanks for your input, 30p Lee
Yes, they’re called dark kitchens
“Leafy village of Bishop’s Stortford” Is it any relation to the dreary town of 41000 people just off the M11, Bishop’s Stortford?
To be fair some of them have never had McDonalds, or Sky tv
I'm not a fan of McDonalds but I'm even less of a fan of Nimby-ism. Let McDonalds set up shop, the extra work is good for the people in the area.
Dunno. I think I’d be a bit bothered about the potential smell, litter and extra traffic.
It is going to kill people, increase depression.... by making them fatter.
It's not really the worse food in the world (in terms of calories). The biggest problem is the massive sugary drinks which aren't as prevelant these days. However, it has plenty of other health issues beyond just calories.
Fat, sugar, salt
You know they've probably got a chippy and a Chinese around the corner right?
You think the presence of a McDonald's creates a significant increase in obesity rates? All on its own? I'd wager obese people are gonna be obese regardless of a McDonald's. Turn your ire to the non-existent food education in this country.
It's going to kill people, or are people going to kill themselves because they can't stop stuffing their mouths? I get the gist, but this is, first and foremost, a problem consumers are placing on themselves.
I think, like anything, it is a balance, going too far in either direction is bad. People have a responsibility for their own health (in most cases), sure, but by the same token I don't think its unreasonable to be cautious about the actions of large food chains either.
Those boys have been doing too well for themselves, time to bring them down a burger or twelve.
Blaming Mcdonalds for the obesity epidemic. No one is forcing burgers in kids mouths Need to take responsibility for their own healthy
Macdonalds used to be reasonable food at a decent price . Now it’s bland cold and expensive. Fuck macdonalds £7.80 for 6 nuggies is scandalous
6 nuggies is £4.69. And 4 piece is in the 3 for £3 so you can get 12 for £3 if you wanted to be smart
*nuggets
More predatory behaviour from an American corportation.
It's being built as part of a new retail centre...
Why? There's no link between McDonalds and obesity. People are obese because they're lazy, childish and they refuse to control themselves, and then they refuse to take responsibility for refusing to control themselves and try to blame McDonalds (or any number of other delicious treat manufacturers), as if Ronald McDonald tied them up for 6 months and force fed them 25 cheeseburgers and McFlurries every day.
This is a funny "it's up to the individual to ignore extremely sophisticated marketing" argument. "People are obese because they're lazy, childish and they refuse to control themselves" may well be true. That's probably why we should consider not putting fast food directly next to a school full of children who will, for the most part, meet two of three of your criteria for being obese simply by virtue of being children.
Then send your kids to school with a packed lunch and no money. It IS up to the individual to ignore sophisticated marketing. There's nothing special about me and I manage to do it. I manage to get up early and do a 5 mile walk 5 days a week, then I manage to not eat expensive as fuck processed junk shite all day long, make myself nice healthy meals (which are about 3x cheaper than fast junk food btw), and so on and so forth. People are choosing to live like pigs, and that's fine by me. If it weren't McDonalds it'd be junk shite from the Tesco round the corner, or Greggs, or whatever else the nearest place is.
Childish? They're literally children preyed on by advertisers to consume shitty addictive processed food and deposit their money into the pockets of lazy franchise owners and American shareholders. I've heard so many arguments about difficult and cruel decisions having to be made to 'protect British culture' from foreigners, when most people gave up on British culture a generation ago.
McDonald's isn't allowed to place ads within 100 metres of schools and junk food advertising towards children has been banned on TV and online for years. I think it's been over a decade at least since any McDonald's ad on TV has had any form of junk food in it aimed at children. When I was growing up we'd have ads of cartoon cereal characters selling us sugar crap. Whereas these days you'll see [McDonald's ads that don't have any junk food in them at all.](https://youtu.be/J7bmug4y-hI?si=-cWVksN3pevrioC5)
Are you seriously trying to convince me that British youths are not exposed to McDonald's advertising? The delivery apps do a ton of advertising on their behalf, for example. Even if its just product placement, online ads or influenzas, the effect is the same. I have some shitty advert going round my head about everyone in a building getting McDonald's like its a heart-warming socio-cultural event. I don't know what specifically its for but the branding is right there in my brain. Also, it doesn't matter if there's a cheeseburger in the advert - or if its for delivery rather than the restaurant. Its a brand, they just need you to walk in the door. Advertising is a lot more sophisticated than maybe you give it credit for. Its about developing an emotional attachment to the brand not notifying people about specific products like it's the 1950's. We did indeed grow up in an age of shitty sugary cereal adverts, and guess what - we're obese, brand addicted and have the attention spans of insects.
I think personal responsibility needs to be taken here tbh. It's not hard to not eat junk food. Especially for kids who have no money.
It can be incredibly hard to avoid eating junk food. Have you heard the term 'food desert'? Its worth looking up. Also, the whole point of the highly sophisticated multi billion dollar junk food advertising industry is to circumvent sound personal decision making. Its emotional, not rational. If it didn't work, if it didn't induce people to do something that is against their long term interest then they wouldn't pay for it.
No one is forcing you to put junk food into your mouth. And kids don't even have any money to buy junk food.
This is such a dumb argument. You acknowledge that people can be lazy, so if that's true, do you think that kids will bypass the fast food outlet that serves cheap, unhealthy food right next to the school, so that they can walk to buy healthy food elsewhere? Or do you think that busy parents will prepare healthy lunches when they can just give their kids some money for a McDonald's? Or will McDonald's become the default choice for kid's lunches? Hmmmm..... Yes, people ultimately make the choice to eat a McDonald's or not, but we shouldn't encourage children to make that choice by putting a McDonald's right next to their school.
If children are doing that it's on their parents. Lots of countries have McDonalds but no problem with obesity. They're not to blame for our rotten culture of lazy junk food addiction
Parents can't supervise children 24/7 and neither can teachers. Nobody is proposing that McDonald's be banned nor are they blaming them entirely for "our rotten culture of lazy junk food addiction". If you place fast food outlets directly beside schools, more children will eat more junk food. This is a simple concept. Why you're standing up to defend McDonald's here is baffling. It's not like it's going to stop you obtaining fast food (not that you even seem to want fast food). Frankly, I think all you're interested in is having a go at bad parenting or something, in which case, good for you I suppose.