On August 10, three San Francisco supervisors introduced a proposed law aimed at encouraging fast food restaurants to provide healthier food and beverages for children. The law would only allow restaurants to give away kids’ toys or other incentives with meals that include fruits and vegetables and that don’t contain too many calories, too much fat, or too much salt.

Fast food restaurants spend millions of dollars to attract young consumers. Toys and other giveaways packaged with meals are a major marketing tactic: in 2006, fast food restaurants sold more than 1.2 billion children’s meals with toys to children ages 12 and younger. Cities and counties can take an important step to promote children's health by breaking the link between toys and unhealthy restaurant food.

This proposal follows passage of a similar law in Santa Clara County in April. That law was based on a model ordinance developed by the National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN), a program of Public Health Law & Policy (PHLP).

NPLAN’s model ordinance is designed to be adapted by localities across the country. For more information, please see our ordinance or the accompanying fact sheet:

• Healthier Toy Giveaway Meals: Questions and Answers about NPLAN’s Model Ordinance, a fact sheet outlining the strategies for breaking the link between unhealthy meals and toys.

• Model Ordinance for Healthier Toy Giveaway Meals helps local governments steer restaurants toward providing healthier options for children by setting a ceiling for the amount of calories, sugar, fat, and salt permitted in a meal accompanied by a toy or other prize.

For more than a decade, Public Health Law & Policy has worked with local and state public health departments on policy strategies addressing nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco control. Our team of attorneys, urban planners, and policy analysts are available to assist your community as you develop public health policy initiatives.