November 30, 2011 1:51 PM

San Francisco McDonald's find way around toy ban

McDonald's announced that it will begin serving up a healthier Happy Meal including apple slices and a smaller serving of French fries. Michelle Miller reports.

McDonald's announced that it will begin serving up a healthier Happy Meal including apple slices and a smaller serving of French fries. Michelle Miller reports. 

(CBS/AP) 

SAN FRANCISCO - McDonald's restaurants in San Francisco have found a way to comply with a city law that bans free toy giveaways with Happy Meals: charge 10 cents for the toys.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that franchises in the city will begin charging the dime to customers who request that the toys be added to their Happy Meals.

San Francisco last year became the first major U.S. city to prohibit fast-food restaurants from including toys with children's meals that don't meet certain nutritional guidelines. The law takes effect Thursday.

VIDEO: Happy Meal toys banned in San Francisco
Happy Meal Ban in San Francisco: Food Police or Fat Fighter?

Scott Rodrick owns 10 of the 19 McDonald's franchises in the city and says the 10-cent charge complies with the "letter of the law." The money from the toy sales will help build a new Ronald McDonald House. He has no intention of dropping the price of a Happy Meal.

According to McDonald's USA Director of Media Relations, the 10-cent price was determined from surveying customers. "They told us 10 cents is fair and reasonable," especially after being told the money would go to a charity, she said.

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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by djseavy November 30, 2011 6:15 PM EST
Of course MacDonalds is about money. That's what businesses try to do - make money. This crap about the health and welfare of kids is just that - a bunch of crap. Why aren't people carrying on about all the Xbox systems and everything else that keeps a kid sitting in his duff instead of going outside and getting some good old fashioned exercise? And nobody is a victim. I've never seen parents holding a gun to a kid's head and telling him or her they MUST eat at MacDonalds. The word victim ought to be stricken from the English language. All it does is allow people to stop taking responsibility for their actions and blame them on someone else.
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by One_American__________ November 30, 2011 5:18 PM EST
Nancy Pelosi's nanny-state is revolting against her.

You have to just sit back, watch - and laugh!
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by Truth_Tracker November 30, 2011 4:12 PM EST
Need any more proof that McDonald's doesn't give a tinker's damn about the health and welfare of children? It's all about the $$money$$

The sociopathic criminal mind works just like this McDonalds mindset. Find a way to make an end-run around the purpose and intent of the law, so the greedy malevolent perpetrator can inflict upon victims the very harm and injury the law was designed to prevent.

This depraved corporate mindset is what makes Wall Street corporations "Public Enemy Number One."
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by ohionavy November 30, 2011 4:25 PM EST
what a line of bull. these are kids meals. kids meals have to be purchased by parents. kids dont have there own money. kids are to be supervised. If the parents think that these meals are not good for there kids. They would not purchase them. Corporations only provide goods and services that the people want. I want the big mac. My kids love the chicken nuggets. I don't want anybody tellng me what i can or cant buy with my money.
by EnricoMartinezSanchito November 30, 2011 4:41 PM EST
Darn those Wallstreet corporations for wanting to make a profit! They should just start giving food away for free, the occupy Losers would love if corporations did that!!!
by ohionavy November 30, 2011 4:03 PM EST
McDonalds should have a special toy only available in San Francisco and charge a buck for it. Give that money to the Ronald McDonald house. Ensure that the media has the total.
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by nowayobama November 30, 2011 3:21 PM EST
What needs to be remembered: This law was written by an inattentive father. The supervisor 9-10 year old daughter had several of the toys and the father was unaware that she ate at fast food restaurants so much. Another fact that is seldom mentioned. There are no fast food restaurants within walking distance of Mr. Mar's home. So, how did a 9 or 10 year old get to the restaurant on her own and how did she get the money to pay for all those meals?
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by EmpireGeorge__- November 30, 2011 2:41 PM EST
You gotta love how the San Fran liberals attempted to force their liberal views on patrons of McDonalds (no toys for macs).....the owner, as a quintessential American, finds an immediate way around their shennanagans.
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by noahveil December 2, 2011 4:35 PM EST
Oh yeah. It's a "shennanagan" to try to get kids to eat better.
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