Since 1996, Box Tops for Ed has been a popular marketing program in schools.
Through the program, people (parents and non parents alike), clip those pink rectangle coupons from the tops of their Wheaties, Cheerios and Lucky Charms and send them to school. The school, in turn, has a Box Tops coordinator that redeems the coupons for cash…
The plus?
$.10 per Box Top – to buy Books or Fund a Field Trip. Perhaps for classroom supplies.
Is it a great idea?
We previously mentioned our thoughts on the program – why we stay AWAY from the program – and unfortunately I think most people missed the point entirely or, they were quick to pass off that we just don’t care about helping our school. While we’re thankful for your comments, both good and bad (because quite honestly, several of you pointed out that the article was just “stupid”)… what you may not realize is that your comments help us get our page seen by Facebook so continue to throw out your disparaging comments.
We have kids in school, we do believe in providing as much help as we can, but we are concerned parents that have the ability to remove our blinders and see past the marketing tactics used at the expense of our child’s health. Hopefully one day you will see the same.
Thankfully there are BETTER and more PROFITABLE ways for schools to earn money – but unfortunately I think it has become too easy and convenient for people to just clip the Pink Rectangle off the box – of food that I know I wouldn’t be bragging about buying for my kids.
MOST parents might be surprised to find out how much food marketing occurs in schools… do you read about it? Or do you realize?
In 2006, the Food Industry spent $186 million marketing in schools ALONE – that marketing went to billboards, vending machines, signate, and more… their goal? To grab your loyalty – by offering the chance to save for schools, they are keeping you a loyal customer.
But you are buying the products anyways – right?
Box Tops for Ed licenses everything from an array of processed foods to Kleenex, Paper Towels, and even underwear in the pack.. and since everyone wears underwear and eats cereal for breakfast, it’s a win win: Buy your children what they love (Who doesn’t love Lucky Charms?) and the school can benefit.
WIN in both cases!
Deep down, I think we all know that the billions of dollars spent on items that contribute to Box Tops are not spent on Viva, Hanes, and Kleenex :) They are probably most of the “other” items – such as Totino’s Pizza Rolls, Kids Cereal, Pillsbury – but wait… those items are easy (for most), convenience foods, heavily advertised, subsidized with coupons.
We realize people buy paper towels. We realize people use Kleenex, and sure, you turn in the codes that are on those – deep down, I think that more box tops come from Kids Cereal, Toaster Strudels and other items. Box Tops DOES include some organic items (and yes, we DID mention that…) — but all in all, those items are few and far between. And while they are organic, for those who are trying to eat whole foods with nutritional value, organic processed foods in a box really aren’t something to call home about.
But Some Foods are Healthy …
Box tops includes Green Giant Veggies, and they have Organic Items – so it’s a win win!
I don’t think you can really call bagged processed veggies healthy – for some perhaps, but fresh Organic produce doesn’t have a Box Tops sticker, does it?
Truth be told, it’s cheaper per ounce to buy their fresh, organic counterparts, and steam them yourself. But in a time when we are all about convenience, who wants to cook when you can buy a bag of veggies you can zap in the microwave?
And while we DID mention that many of the items are NOT processed, we’re here to tell you that the majority of the items ARE.
Box Tops is merely a mechanism to encourage people to buy General Mills, Viva, Kleenex instead of others .. after all, brand loyalty through the program is there. You can’t do Box Tops from buying generic – right?
Often times though, that brand loyalty has some pretty huge implications for your child’s health.
Parents and schools must recognize that encouraging children to cut out box tops produces the behavior that General Mills needs: To build brand loyalty and increase sales of their products.
Here are some stats to keep in mind..
- Since 1996, Box Tops or Ed has given more than $252 Million to Schools.
- Average number of participating schools in the program: 90,000
- Average students per school: 550
Calculate those, and you’ll see that General Mills earned 5.25 Billion in the sale of products over that period. That’s quite a lot of product.
The REAL Issue in the Classrooms
I have mentioned this as part of my child’s school – every other day, MY child comes home with a child friendly collection sheet from Box Tops for Ed. The sheet is designed for parents to tape coupons to – making it “easier” on the kids to return them.
Some classrooms also encourage children to return them by telling children they will float to the top of the class with Box Tops — making parents feel as if it’s a required effort on their part to participate. The worst part? The collection sheets portray a message that the child’s education is aligned with processed foods.
Does that matter? It doesn’t – to most. But for some it does matter.
SOME Teachers have Earned up to $800 for Supplies!
While that might be a great number to tout, it’s not really something that is tout worthy – considering that the majority of those parents probably picked up processed food … that means it came at a cost to the health of the child.
Considering that in 2015, the average school earnings in the nation was $551.. that’s an average of around $1 per student.
Here are the biggest issues:
But I buy those items anyways….
Yes, you might, but the majority of those Box Tops come from processed food. Disregard if you wish, but that’s not the best food for your children. I know… you don’t come here to read about someone tell you how to eat, but it’s true: we are in a time in this country now where people would prefer convenience over truly real food. Call it what you want but that’s just the truth.
It’s FREE money for the school – so why not?
It is – agree. But at what price? Are you comfortable with big corporations marketing those poor food choices in your child’s school daily? I’m not, but then I might just be alone in my feelings.
For some schools it adds up HUGE.
I agree – for some it does. I would hope so – considering that they make Billions of money on the program, I think it’s time to agree that although the $.10 “may” add up, there are other ways that will be better for both the school and the child. But it involves climbing out of your box, looking outside the bubble of big food industry and realizing the harm in what they ARE doing.
What this Article Isn’t…
This article is NOT meant to indicate we aren’t supportive of schools earning extra funds. Sure, they DO – I think we all agree that schools need additional options for income – there is no doubt about that.
Does this mean WE don’t support OUR school? Definitely not – so before you throw us in that category as parents who don’t help, we do help – the article is bringing light to the marketing scheme behind Box Tops. I dropped off 11 cases of paper this year so far – TEN cases…. that’s over 1,000 reams. I was one of only FOUR parents that volunteered my time and over $25 in “party” supplies for their Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter parties. That’s $75 so far this year – for ONE child. Where were the other 26 parents?
And while some of you may tout the fact that your school has earned $800 from Box Tops.. that’s great, though it’s unfortunate that the blinders for some are still so tight that they can’t see the issue with the program.
The Alternative
While others continue to support their marketing scheme, we mentioned an alternative (and better) way to support your child’s school, with a 40% return…
Three months ago, we sent in 7 bags of clothing to Schoola – and so far, have earned $56 for OUR child’s school. Three months, $56, from clothes that would have been dropped off at Goodwill or, Salvation Army.
That’s just from ONE family. Imagine if 50 families took the time to do that? That would be $2,800 – without marketing any poor food choices to kids… or, being subject to big “Food Industry” being involved in our child’s education.
The bags are FREE to request. You take the bag, and fill with your child’s clothing that they have perhaps outgrown, and you put in the bag. Schoola pays for return shipping and 40% of the proceeds go straight back to your designated school.
In the End
It takes the blinders to come off to realize that the marketing scheme is FAR more beneficial to the company than to your child’s school. The schools are NOT profiting from this program – the big corporations ARE, on the other hand, profiting from this “charity” work .. that they likely make money off as such: charity work. It’s likely that they get big tax breaks from the money donated.
Schools are getting a meager amount of money while the kids are eating (mostly) junk – parents are paying for it and General Mills is making a HUGE profit. Profit is great – and although it is what business is about… but at what expense?