Chickens Say- Eat More Beef!

Chick-fil-A has decided to clarify recent statements made by The Civil Rights Agenda regarding their “corporate giving”. Simply put, they have made it clear that they feel that they must “be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us.” They went on to say that the company’s “giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families, and enrich marriages and support communities.”

They pledge to “continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.”

While Chick-fil-A does not directly support groups like the Family Research Council or the National Organization for Marriage, they have supported groups like Marriage and Family Foundation which supports NOM and other anti-gay political groups. Dan Cathy, himself, has donated directly to NOM and other anti-gay groups.

In lists regarding the top ten reasons why marriages break up, same-sex marriage is never listed; however, monetary factors are consistently in the top five. Chick-fil-A has an average hourly wage of $7.77 per hour, and provides health benefits only if someone is eligible. The average wage for a Chick-fil-A worker is about fifty cents more than the minimum wage of $7.25. Most experts consider this, even at full time employment, to be a living wage.

Chick-fil-A’s statement reads:

For many months now, Chick-fil-A’s corporate giving has been mischaracterized. And while our sincere intent has been to remain out of this political and social debate, events from Chicago this week have once again resulted in questions around our giving. For that reason, we want to provide some context and clarity around who we are, what we believe and our priorities in relation to corporate giving.

A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.

As we have stated, the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators.

For better understanding of our corporate giving, please click here to download the PDF document titled “Chick-fil-A: Who We Are.”