WASHINGTON—Highlighting a disturbing reality for many individuals and families throughout the country, a study published Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that an alarming 60 percent of Americans have no idea where their next value meal will come from. “Our research found that at any given time, three out of five U.S. residents cannot state where they’ll be getting their next combo meal, whether it’s McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, or some other franchise location,” said the report’s lead author, Alexis Stamn, noting that in the most disaffected areas of the country, less than 10 percent of residents could confidently tell researchers exactly what combination of burger, fries, and soft drink or shake they’d be having for dinner. “It’s shocking to think of the millions of children in the U.S. who come home from school every day and simply don’t know whether or not their parents will put an Arby’s Angus steak sandwich or something from the Taco Bell Dollar Cravings menu on the table that night. Just think of what that does to a child.” The study also found that during the past month, a staggering one-eighth of all American children under the age of 10 had gone a full 24 hours without eating a single Happy Meal.

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