1 Reason Chick-fil-A Is Under Fire Again This Summer
Chick-fil-A is no stranger to controversy, and now a Louisiana location is stirring the pot with its latest venture—a summer camp for kids.
Yep, you heard that right! From July 22-24, the Chick-fil-A in Hammond, Louisiana, is hosting a camp for children ages 5 to 12. The young participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at the daily operations of the restaurant. They can choose one of three days to attend this mini bootcamp.
It’ll cost you $35 for a day of job training.
What the cluck, Chick-fil-A?
According to their Facebook announcement, the camp activities are packed with hands-on experiences.
Kids will learn how to host in the dining room, master the art of customer service, take orders, bag meals, and even whip up their very own Ice Dream cone or cup. Fun?
Well, not everyone thinks so.
Since the camp announcement on June 6, the Facebook post has racked up over 1,000 comments, and they’re not all glowing reviews. Critics argue that the camp is just a clever ploy to use kids as unpaid labor, all while charging parents $35 per child.
“Wait. You want parents to checks notes pay you to use their kids as laborers? But hey, they get a free meal, snack, and a shirt for free advertising!” one user quipped.
Another commenter added, “Just take your kids to the park and spend those $35 on water balloons and Nerf guns or something.” Ouch!
But not everyone is roasting Chick-fil-A over the coals. Some applaud the initiative, seeing it as a valuable opportunity to teach kids about work ethics and responsibility.
One supportive comment read, “Kudos to you, Chick-Fil-A Hammond. It’s nice to see an offer to teach young children about work ethic and responsibility while having a little fun at the same time.”
This isn’t the first time Chick-fil-A has dabbled in child-focused programs.
Another location in New Orleans also runs its own summer camp. So, it seems this idea is catching on, despite the backlash.
And speaking of backlash, Chick-fil-A is no stranger to that either. In 2022, a location in Hendersonville, North Carolina, got into hot water for some questionable labor practices. They were fined for using volunteers in their drive-thru, paying them with food instead of money.
Plus, they violated federal child-labor laws by letting under-18 workers operate a trash compactor. Not cool, Chick-fil-A.
And back in 2012, then-Boston Mayor Tom Menino told Chick-fil-A to get the cluck out of town:
After Chick-fil-A’s then president, Dan Cathy, said gay marriage is “inviting God’s judgment on our nation,” Menino was livid
“Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston,” Menino told the Boston Herald . “You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against the population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion. That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail.”
So, whether you see this summer camp as a fun, educational experience or just another corporate gimmick, one thing’s for sure: Chick-fil-A knows how to get the masses clucking.
