McDonald's Charges More for Healthy Choices

Hi! I am sorry for your experience, and I hope you don't think all
Mcdonald's are the same. At our store milk is a choice with our Happy
Meals, so it wouldn't cost any more. We also offer apple dippers
instead of fries at no additional cost. As for our regular meals, you
can get a salad, parfait, or apple dippers instead of fries, and a
bottle of water instead of a soft drink. I don't know why this
particular store didn't offer these choices. I always believed it was
a national thing. Hope this helps.

sometimes, you should look at the actual menus. I know, I know, it
requires reading. if you do it from time to time you will see that
stores even within a couple miles of each other, charge different
prices for the same things. a meal at one store is $5.00 and $5.31 at
another. it isn't because Mcdonald's thought milk should cost more, it
is because the owner of that on store thought it cost more. you do
understand that mcdonalds works as franchises right ? that most of
them are not owned by mcdonalds corp, but by some guy that wanted to
own a mcdonalds... if you wanted your kids to be healthy, dont make
your usual order consist of mcdonalds.

I'm guessing that milk is more expensive which is why they'd charge
more, but I would have thought that they would let you know what the
cost of upgrading was up front.

I had no idea that they charged more for milk either. They advertise
the healthy part, without telling you that it costs more and how much.
I wouldn't mind paying more because it costs more, just I'd like to
know up front. Sometimes I only have close to the exact amount in my
pocket to buy the food, you know?

I ate a Happy Meal this weekend. Having read this letter, I paid
extra attention to the signage and my receipt. Next to the little
segment that advertises the "healthy options" such as apple slices and
milk, there was a note that said "additional charges may apply."
Granted, they could be clearer, but they are putting it up there, and
I'm sure if you were to ask what the additional charges were they
could tell you. For the record, I had a cheeseburger Happy Meal with
fries and a milk. The milk was $1 extra. This makes perfect sense to
me, since as others have pointed out milk is more expensive to produce
and has a shorter shelf life than soda.

I agree that it would be nice if McDonald's charged the same for all
their Happy Meal options, even though I can see why they don't. I do
take exception to your insinuation that the staff was somehow
incompetent. Unwillingness to break corporate policy is not
incompetence, it is doing one's job.

This is normal. Most restaraunts charge more for milk or juice. Milk
and juices are more expensive. That's a no-brainer. Besides, if the
meal comes with a soft drink, and not milk, and you subsitute, you pay
more. What's the problem?

Going to McDonald's for healthy food? If you were truly worried about
eating healthy, you'd never even set foot in there. Get real.

I seriously do not think you are putting much thought into what you
are saying. Do you want to know why milk is more expensive than soda?
Here are two points to ponder:

1. Milk can not be mass produced like soda. It is an animal product;
not a combination of water and artificial flavoring.

2. Milk has a FAR shorter shelf life.

Please educate yourself before you make stupid comments.

i bet that mcdonald's and other junk food restaurants are useless
..you can go supermarket instead and buy some snack bars and sub
sandwiches for you and your kids

This is the BEST Healthy Choices.

The way that the program is set up in most fast-food POS systems is
the individual items are rung up (hamburger, small fry, drink) so that
it subtracts from the system's inventory as well as allowing the
assembler to know what items to put into the meal, and then a "happy
meal" button as well, which adds a small amt. for the toy cost as well
as the discount for the meal. For instance, say the price of a
hamburger happy meal is $1.99. The cashier hits the "hamburger" button
($0.49), the small fry button ($0.99), and the small drink button
($1.19). When the "happy meal" button is pressed, it discounts $0.68,
making the price in the machine $1.99. Now, let's say the price of
the milk is $1.89. So, you have $0.49 + $1.19 + $1.89 - $0.68 =
$2.89.

For all of the negative posters, this woman was trying to give
McDonalds a suggestion. I don't think anyone thinks of McDonalds as
"healthy". She was just suggesting that the more healthy alternative
should not cost more. I think it is a good suggestion. She wasn't
saying they were doing anything against policy or blah blah blah. She
is simply offering a good suggestion. How can people possibly
disagree?

I think the part of this post that stood out to me is that you're
trying to pick healthy options for your child a Mcdonalds!!!

It's not just McDonalds - Go to a grocery store and you see things
like this:

Gallon of milk - $3.45
3 liter of soda - $0.59


Fresh organically grown vegetable medley - $2.49/8 oz.
Boxed mac & cheese - $0.49


Soy hamburger patties - $3.89 a box
70% lean ground beef - $1.99/lb

Lean Cuisine frozen entree - $3.49
Banquet TV dinner - $0.99


It's unfortunate that prices for the healthier choices are more, but
I'm thinking that is because the healthier choices don't have the load
of preservatives that the other things do, therefore a shorter shelf
life. That would require special handling, shipping, and processing
procedures which would cost the stores more.

Oh the irony of this subject line!

Your argument is blown when you mention that you were trying to eat
healthy at McDonald's.
I am hoping you are simply not competent enough to realize milk costs
more than soda from a fountain rather than being serious. But I doubt
it.

Healthy foods cost more everywhere. In Canada advocates are trying to
get a healthy food allowance built into social assistance rates.
It costs around 69 cents to buy macaroni and cheese (enough to feed
2-4 people) where as the cost of one apple is more then 69 cents. You
do the math.

its the same EVERYWHERE. even at the grocery, make the healthy choice,
you pay more.

This isn't something new and it isn't strictly healthy choices they
are charging more for...it seems to me that it's common practice. If
you want to alter what comes with the meal you will pay more. If you
want onion rings instead of fries you pay more...if you want a shake
instead of pop you pay more.......they offer you a meal with xyz for
price a...if you want to change your meal to xyt then you're gonna pay
price b. Some places - such as Wendy's - choose to let you select
your sides at no additional cost...but that is there choice - just as
it is McDonalds choice to charge extra. Like you said - you choose to
go elsewhere for dinner...isn't the freedom of choice wonderful?? :)

Honestly, substituting milk for soda isn't going to make all THAT much
difference to the nutritional value of a happy meal, so you were
probably a lot better off going somewhere else anyway.

Are the little jabs at the manager really necessary? "a stocky man
representing himself as the manager" Not very nice, and isn't going to
do much to identify him, especially since this happened five months
ago.

"I am hoping that your store manager was simply not competent enough
to understand how to use the register, and not that McDonald's
actually does allow some of its stores to charge nearly 50% more than
the cost of the entire meal for a less sugar-laden choice with its
child's meals."

Again, not necessary to insult the manager, who was just doing his
job. As has been pointed out, milk costs more than soda. Maybe they're
seeing an increase in requests for milk in the Happy Meals and need to
start charging more for it instead of taking a loss.

Anyway, I don't believe McDonald's responds to third party letters.

You made a great choice opting out on the happy meal that is not even
fit to feed livestock never mind your child.

While it disgusts me that Mclardos charges more for anything remotely
nutritious, it does not surprise me in the least.

I abhor all FAT food places, while they say its your "choice" to eat
there, the fact remains, it is the lowest grade of food they can
legally serve, and they know it.

I think the key word here is "choice" of which you exercised yours
when you cancelled your order and decided to eat elsewhere. It is
McDonald's choice whether to charge more for milk with their Happy
Meals (which they should as it's much more expensive than soda) and
it's your choice as the consumer to decide how much your children's
health is worth.

As far as McDonald's contributing to America's unhealthy eating habits
- - unless every other possible form of nourishment is banned from the
planet earth, it all boils down to - - yep - - you got it - - choice.

If you go to McD's for breakfast and order a value meal it comes with
coffee. If you want Orange Juice instead of the coffee it is extra.
This is the way it has always been. What's the big deal.

Many McD's are privately-owned fanchises, so they have some leeway in
pricing for different items. McD's is not "allowing" them to do
anything, they bought that right with the business.

Milk IS much more expensive than soda; a drink from the fountain costs
a couple cents, while an idividually wrapped and spoilable item costs
quite a bit more to keep in stock.

At least McD's is offering the healthier alternatives than they used
to, it's up to us consumers to realize that the price of healthy
choices is worth it in the long run. Can you really put a price on
your child's health?

Also, referring to a manager as "not competent enough to understand
how to use the register" is just petty and condescending. Why stoop
to that level?

I don't eat at McDonalds that frequently because I'd like to live past
50, but when I do, I order a Happy Meal with milk. I've never noticed
being charged more for milk, but if that's the case, I don't mind. I
pay extra for healthier stuff at the grocery store, so why should I
mind at McDonald's? Milk costs more at the grocery store than soda
does.

Y'know, it's no wonder so many people are overweight in this country!
They make the processed, bad for you food cheap and plentiful but they
charge 2 arms and a leg for the healthy, natural foods like fruits and
veggies, milk and grain.

I wish I had a good explanation, but I don't. You'd think that things
that are grown or naturally obtained (i.e. milk) and not chemically
created in a factory would be less expensive.

At least they don't charge more for the apples that are an option.

My friend is a Boston Market GM and he says the cost of the cup you
put your soda in is higher than the soda it's self. So i can under
stand the cost of milk being higher. Also milk has a much shorter
shelf life so it cannot be purchased in bluk as other drinks can.
I've always thought it was pretty much known that the healthier
choices cost more.

Honestly? McDonald's *doesn't* care about your child's health. Why
should they? I agree that $1 extra for milk is a bit excessive, and I
am sure that they could just let the profit margin for soda absorb the
cost of the milk. But again, why should they? McDonald's is in
business to make money, not to make sure that their customers are
healthy. The hard work of properly nourishing yourself and your
family is all on you, and sadly it *does* cost more, whether at McD's
or the grocery store. Bottom line, as long as McD's turns a profit
and doesn't kill you, they are keeping you healthy enough to come
back, and keeping up their bottom line. That is their only goal. I
applaud your decision to feed your child healthier foods, but that is
sadly something the fast food industry will not (and should not be
expected to) help you with.

You pay more $$ for organic so McD's can do whatever they want.
Sometimes change costs more.

Whichever side of the 'debate' you fall on, one thing still confuses
me:

If all of this took place in December, why wait almost 5 months to
write a letter about it?

I mean, to each his own and clearly the dollar is a big deal to this
person, but to me, it's rather petty to make an issue of it MONTHS
after the fact.

Just an FYI to everyone, the price of milk varies throughout the U.S.
because the price that dairy farmers earn for their milk is dictated
by the government, and that price varies based on, get this, the
distance of the dairy farm from Eau Claire, Wisconsin (a small city on
the western border of WI). (Thank your corrupt politicians bending
over for farmers in TEXAS for this goofy law.)

And while I agree with Nichole (TwinkleToes) that part of the problem
is the overinflated price we pay for fountain pop, every restaurant
does have to maintain a profit margin in order to operate, and if that
restaurant pays a certain price for milk, it's going to mark it up X%
regardless.

It has been my experience, both as a former fast-food employee and as
a customer, that, because drink choices can vary so much, a "meal" is
rung up as such:

The sandwich and side item are rung up at a discounted price, and the
drink, whatever they choose, is rung up at full price. This makes it
easier than having to adjust the price every time someone wants a
juice instead of a coffee, a large Coke instead of a medium, a
milkshake instead of a Coke, etc.

To get an idea of how much of a difference in price there will be,
compare what you want to drink with the price of the drink that is
'suggested' with the meal.

In this case, I can't see milk costing $1.00 more than the small soda
that normally comes with a happy meal, so I think this is a valid
complaint - IMHO, of course!

Milk costs more than soda pop. That's just a fact. When I worked
fast food (20+ years ago), pop was merely PENNIES a serving -- it had
the largest profit margin of any other product sold in the
restaurant.

And right now, it DOES cost more to eat healthfully. You can bet my
grocery bill is considerably higher by shopping only the outer aisles
of the grocery store. Mass-produced food costs less (per serving) to
make than better food choices cost.

And for someone who seems so concerned about healthful (not "healthy")
choices, why on EARTH are you eating at McDonald's?

I'm kind of torn on this one. I do believe milk costs more than soda
and it is perishable so there is a greater chance of waste so I have
no problem paying more for it with a Happy Meal but I do think $1.00
is excessive.

However, if it is indeed $1.00 and I wanted my child to have the
healthier choice, I would pay the $1.00. To put things in prespective
however, in a lot of cases, the healthier choice is more expensive.
Organic vegetables cost more as does hormone free meat. A lot of the
healthier, all natural products are the supermarket cost more than the
mainstream brands. If you truly want to go healthier, you have to pay
the price.

If I remember correctly from the last time I went to McD's with a
child, orange and apple juice are both healthy choices for the kids
meal, and do not cost extra.

Milk needs to be refrigerated during trasport, unlike soda, which may
be the reason for the extra cost.

at each store. My opinion is the dollar extra for milk IS a bit
exorbitant, considering I've seen the size of the carton at my Mc
Donalds in the past. It looks like maybe six or eight oz at the
most... for a quarter more you could get 16 ounces at a convenience
store. Soda is more prfitable than milk, and the amount of soda they
sell would absorb the excess paid for milk and they're still ahead.
I may be wrong, it IS a franchise and their website has no menu
pricing on it.
I hope you get a favorable response, or any explanation and update us
all...

I don't believe our McDonalds here charges an extra dollar for it,
however, it's itemized on the receipt and appears to be charged as
such. It's possible they did overcharge you for it at that location or
their policies are different elsewhere. I notice different prices at
various locations so it could be their procedure.

I too agree that a $1.00 upcharge is pretty excessive...

However, pricing is usually dependant on 1) the food cost, and 2) the
amount of waste.

They might charge a little extra for milk because they have alot of
waste due to spoilage...? Just a guess.

You know... I'm with you on this one. The actual cost of soda is SO
low yet they charge an arm and a leg for it. They give the kid a
milk. If they want to upcharge it, why a dollar? Perhaps a quarter,
MAYBE 50 cents but I think that a dollar is excessive.

I guess I'm kinda siding against the grain. If indeed you were
charged $1.00 over top of what you would have paid for a soda, I agree
that is certainly excessive. I can go to my local super market and
buy a quart of flavored milk for what, $1.50? Soda is typically
somewhere around $1.00 for a small right? So if they were charging
$2.00 for milk, I think that's kind of rediculous. I am pretty
certain I've never been charged that excessively for a Happy Meal,
even though milk is all my daughter orders with her meal. I do
understand however why places like this typically have to charge more
for perishable food items.

I'm not a purchaser of Happy Meals, so not only do I not know whether
the McDonald's near me charges extra for milk, but I do not have a
clue what the Happy Meal signage is like.

Soda from a fountain is not especially expensive. Milk in individual
containers costs more. So I'm kind of wondering what the markup is
for a regular Happy Meal with soda and a Happy Meal with milk.

Without knowing that, I don't really know whether I think your
complaint is a valid one.

I hope you hear back from McDonald's, though.

This is not McDonalds; this is everywhere. It costs more to buy food
that is very perishable and more nutritious than food that is not. The
individual packaging costs more as well. That is why you can buy a
litter of something cheaper than being able to buy the same amount in
individual servings. Tough luck, you have to pay for quality.

I didn't know that they do this. However, soda rots your teeth and
gives you empty calories, while milk is good for most people. So it
should cost more.

I will pay attention next time. You have to remember though that some
McDonalds are independently owned and operated and my have different
prices and policies then the corporate owned stores.

Perhaps it is the policy of THIS McDonalds. I agree if it is the
policy it should be indicated on the menu board or the picture board
with at the bare minimum an *milk is an additional charge.

I did not realize that they charged more for the milk. I suppose I
just havent paid attention. I assume that it costs more because the
coke is a fountain drink. Should they keep gallons of milk and just
pour them into small cups, then maybe they wouldnt charge you more for
it.I personally really like the individual jugs and am willing to pay
a dollar more for it.

The amount charged for the product does not correspond to the
company's alleged contribution to unhealthy eating habits. People
choose what they eat - the information is readily available - and
choose to spend what the company charges.

The store manager is certainly competent enough to know how to operate
the register system and the OP knows this. The remark in question was
petty.

As Jeffrey pointed out, milk costs more than soda.

What's the big deal?

If you choose juice with a combo meal in the morning intead of coffee,
there is an upcharge. You either pay it, or you don't.

I, too, have noticed a discrepancy in pricing from store-to-store. For
example, the new iced coffee, size large was 1.99 near at the McD near
my home. At the location near my work, it's 2.19. Either pay it, or
don't. It's really quite simple.

I'd be curious to know where, exactly, you went when you 'chose to eat
elsewhere'. If it was fast food, was did they charge extra for the
milk? Did you end up better off, financially, by not ponying up the
extra dollar?

Additionally, your kid must be better behaved than mine were at that
age. I can only imagine the scene that would have befallen the car if
we had ordered a happy meal, and then left (sans meal) because I
didn't want to pony up the extra dollar for his requisite 'healthy'
portion of his fast-food meal.

And one more thing - did you say this happened back in December?

Are you SERIOUS with this?

Milk costs more than soda. Simple as that.

If you care about your kid's health, you'll pay the money. If you
care more about the dollar than you kid, you'll cheap out and get him
the soda.

What am I missing?