Far from me to criticize charitable efforts in these hard days but forgive me for being a bit cynical with a recent press release announcing that the Chick-Fil-A on Bristol and Macarthur in SanTana wants you to donate $5 so they can, donation by donation, give 30,000 hungry people in Orange County the gift of their chicken sandwich, a brownie, and chips.
Also involved in the effort are local charities whose mission is to feed the less fortunate, like the Orange County Rescue Mission. The empty stomach doesn't care for calorie counts, of course, but the Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich doesn't exactly better the long-term health of its eaters.
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The company's website states their chicken sandwiches has 430 calories, with 17 grams of fat. Their fudge nut brownie has 370 calories, and while the website doesn't list what kind of chips it offers, I think it's safe to assume that the calories there will safely put the meal over the 1,000 calories mark and add a hell of a lot more fat.
The one mitigating factor in all this is that Chick-Fil-A will match each $5 donation (which buys a meal for someone else) by giving money to the OC Rescue Mission and other participating non-profits. We applaud that, but maybe Chik-Fil-A should stick to massive charitable donations on their own accord (which they do) instead of getting people into their stores, making them spend some cash for a meal, profiting a bit more by pulling on heartstrings, and then sending over their meals to poor people, meals affordable enough for them to purchase regularly when they're up on their feet again? What's that parable about teaching a man to fish instead of feeding him a greasy sandwich?
And before the haters get funny: I like Chik-Fil-A. Now, grinch me!
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