Chick-Fil-A, in commemoration of opening a new location in Manhattan, offered 100 people free food for a year. However, instead of the promotion being met with cheers and adulation, like most promotions of its kind would garner, the promotion was met with skepticism and surrounded in controversy.
In order to win the free food, contestants needed to sleep on the corner of 37th Street and 6th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan until the restaurant's grand opening on Oct. 3 at 6 a.m., according to Yahoo! News.
However, there was a catch to all this: First, participants were required to have a government-issued ID. Second, participants were required to live within an eligible zip code, reported AJC. This meant, as many who learned about this promotion pointed out, that anyone who is homeless or sleeping in the streets involuntarily were ineligible by default.
Beyond calling the promotion both "humiliating" and "insensitive," many took issue with the fact that despite Chick-fil-A is Christian (the chain is known for observing the sabbath and closing on Sundays, as well as refusing employment based on sexual orientation), it ignored a key part of the Bible: caring for others, especially those less fortunate.
One commenter on Jezebel said: "Aren't they supposed to be Christians? Perhaps they could give free food for a year to 100 homeless New Yorkers instead of 100 New Yorkers who have an address and enough free time/ability to afford childcare to spend the night sitting on a sidewalk?"
Chick-Fil-A did not comment about the issue.
