A Louisiana-based Chick-fil-A location is under fire online for opening a summer camp for children that critics say is a way for the company to use children for labor.
Location Hammond, Louisiana announced camp on their Facebook page, which offers nine three-hour sessions where attendees will have the opportunity to get a “behind-the-scenes” look at the restaurant's inner workings and spend time with “Team Leaders” and, of course , the beloved Chick-fil-A cow mascot.
The $35 session is for campers ages five to 12, the restaurant said, and those who attend will receive a free kid's meal, T-shirt and name tag.
Within hours, the restaurant found it had sold out of all session and was “fully booked”, most likely due to the company's massive popularity.
However, the response online has been less than ideal, with many calling the camp a “child labor violation” and a “disturbing” concept.
“So people pay you money, and you get free child labor, but you call it a camp? Sounds legit,” one person wrote on Facebook. “I'm going to start my own summer camp where the parents pay me money and the kids come and clean my house and yard.”
“Anyone who thinks this is a good idea should be in jail,” said another.
However, some fans of the chicken chain were in support of the camp.
“Sounds like a fun thing for the kids to go behind the scenes to see how they put food together and how it works to be efficient,” offered one person.
“Maybe this will teach some kids responsibility and civility. Your organization is always nice and helpful as a business should be,” another fan wrote. “I bet it's fun for those kids.”
Chick-fil-A did not immediately return calls of the entrepreneur request for comment but representative for the chain said TODAY that the camps are not for profit and the Team Leaders acting as counselors will not perform their normal duties during the camp sessions but will instead engage in activities and lessons with the campers.
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Chick-fil-A restaurants are franchised by local owners who are encouraged to create and run programs to promote their role in their local community.
This is not the first time that this year the chain has caused a stir on social networks.
In April, a former employee named Miriam Webb went viral on TikTok for posting food reviews of the creations she came up with for employee meals. She resigned after being told she was violating company policy and now makes videos for rivals, including Shake Shack.
There they are an appreciated one 3,000 Chick-fil-A locations operating in the US and Canada.