So Is it Okay to Eat At Chick-fil-A Now?
Politics are typically best kept off the dinner table, they say, but the current presidency has marked a banner era for political statements made in the American food arena. Unsuspecting restaurants and bars have been forced to take sides when asked to serve members of the administration. Chefs, like Washington D.C.’s Jose Andrés, have catapulted to mainstream prominence for anti-Trump commentary. And, perhaps most significantly, social media mobs have pushed businesses to reconcile their own agendas with the beliefs of their consumers.
That might explain why just last month, Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based fast food chicken chain with a legendary track record of supporting lobbyists and causes that many consider anti-LGBTQ, announced it would no longer donate to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes—organizations that’ve been accused of LGBTQ discrimination. The company is ending donations to the groups through its charitable-giving arm and in 2020 will focus instead on “smaller organizations working in the areas of education, homelessness, and hunger.”