McDonald's Sales Down: Are You Part of the Reason?

Intense competition, a poor economy and consumers' switch to healthier eating has hurt the fast food giant.

The fast food industry's competitiveness level is at an all-time high, with McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's, the three largest chains, experimenting with menu changes to try to appeal to the masses. McDonald's is dropping at least two of their current menu items, with more possibly being taken off the menu as well, Reuters reported. Shares for McDonald's were down 0.2 percent this week, and in October, global restaurant sales fell for the first time in nine years. The economy has also hurt the industry, as less people are spending money on restaurants because they have less money to spend overall. Lastly, as more people look to eat healthier, they're eating less and less fast food. The obesity epidemic is an often talked about problem …

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Marlborough Above Average in Overweight Students, Says Statewide Report

Results from the Department Public Health reveal that Marlborough has more overweight students than the state average.

According to results of a Body Mass Index screening conducted during the 2010-2011 school year by the Department of Public Health, Marlborough is among the towns with the highest number of obese and overweight students. Nearly one-third of Massachusetts students in grades 1, 4, 7 and 10 are overweight or obese, revealed the findings, as reported in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. The Marlborough school district ranked at 42.4 percent, taking second place for the highest percentage in the region behind Pathfinder Regional Technical School at 48.8 percent. The two schools join Leicester and Ware as others with high percentages above the state average of 32.4 percent. Assabet Valley Vocational School fared only slightly better, with 37.4 …

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Former Patriots, Executive Chef Visit Assabet Valley High School

Members of the Patriots organization made a special visit to Marlborough on Tuesday to talk to kids about healthy eating.

Former Patriots players and Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School students and volunteers cooked a nutritious meal with Patriots Executive Chef Brad Ozerdem as part of the Patriots’ week-long focus on healthy eating and nutrition volunteerism in conjunction with the season-long ”Celebrate Volunteerism” campaign. “Chef Brad” spoke to those in attendance about food preparation. Patriots alumni recognized deserving volunteers and presented Patriots Difference Maker of the Week, Cheryl Philipps, with an honorary medal and autographed football. Students and volunteers left the cooking lesson with recipes and the dry ingredients to bring home and cook with their families. The Patriots Charitable Foundation is working in cooperation with …

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