An industry of opposition has grown exponentially in New Zealand.
Banning smoking in all public places is on the way and attempts are being made to shield the eyes of children in supermarkets in case they see alcohol on sale. Attempts are being made by health activists to implement a sugar tax and now, attention has been turned to one of New Zealand leading family charities - Ronald McDonald House Charities.
The Public Health Association Otago-Southland branch wants the Southern District Health Board to block Ronald McDonald House from setting up in the new Dunedin Hospital, a hospital on which building has not yet started.
The branch action follows the rejection of a Ronald McDonald House by Counties Manukau Health, the health board running Middlemore Hospital. Counties Manukau Health says the charity was rejected because of its association with fast food and decided proposals of this nature can be divisive with staff and public alike. On balance, the health authority decided to take the advice of its public health team of doctors and declined to take discussions further.
What the Public Health Association and Counties Manukau Health fail to understand is the mission of the charity has not a lot to do with fast food.
The charity started in Philadelphia in 1979. It has been providing services in Wellington for 25 years and has two houses as well as 13 rooms inside Starship, the children's hospital operated by the Auckland Regional District Health Board.
There are some interesting statistics to take in when considering the work Ronald McDonald House Charities undertakes.
In the 2016 financial year, the latest figures available, the charity hosted 2952 families within its 126 rooms, providing 32,914 nights of accommodation. The charity says the provided accommodation saved families about $8.5 million in what were stressful and upsetting times.
The charity also provided free dental care for 3000 children, and had 477 regular volunteers who worked more than 38,000 hours in 2016 alone.
In the 2016 financial year, the charity received $7.98 million in revenue and paid out $7.95 million - the remaining money went into reserves.
Interestingly, a third of the revenue came from Ministry of Health subsidies, a quarter came from corporate donations and nearly a quarter came from fundraising. The rest came from personal donations and individual grants.
The charity says it creates and supports programmes which strengthen Kiwi families throughout their children's medical treatments, ensuring they are better placed to cope and help their children heal. Testimonies from families supported during the time their children receive help are glowing.
The Public Health Association generously says the fast-food giant McDonald's could give financial support but should not have naming rights. The Otago-Southland branch says it is troubling for an organisation that for the most part serves the kind of food associated with increasing weight and an increased burden of diseases within the population to be linked with health services.
McDonald's, the restaurant chain, sponsors many player-of-the-day awards for children playing sport. The choices include passing in the voucher to donate money to Ronald McDonald House.
New Zealanders are quite capable of making their own decisions about what to eat and drink - and they do. It is high time public health officials, who regularly launch campaigns against perceived ills they identify in society, took a look at support charities like Ronald McDonald House provide.
There are many other fast-food franchises not providing charity close to the level of Ronald McDonald House. Having a Ronald McDonald House in Dunedin will save southern families angst over having to be in Auckland, away from wider whanau support.
There needs to be balance applied in these arguments. It is naive for people paid by the public purse to expect a charity to help support families in need without some recognition.
