Chick-fil-A Under Fire for New Controversial Kids Summer Camp

Schools are out for summer, which means it's time for summer camps! If you are looking for one to send your kids to, you know that they can be expensive and many have waiting lists.

One Chick-fil-A in Louisiana is causing quite a stir for its popular new kids program, and not because it's so cheap.

This Was a Popular Idea

On June 5, a franchisee in Hammond, Louisiana, announced a Chick-fil-A Summer Camp, with admission being $35. It consists of one, three-hour session with team leaders and is suggested for kids ages five to 12.

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The camp comes with a kids meal, T-shirt, name tag, and snack and it consists of various activities like spending “some time with the Chick-fil-A Cow and Chick-fil-A Team Leaders." It also gives kids a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of a fast-food restaurant.

“We are excited to announce our very first Chick-fil-A Summer Camp,” the Facebook post reads.

There were initially three sessions offered, each with a capacity of 30 children. All of the sessions sold out in an hour, so the restaurant added three more sessions on June 6.

While it was a popular idea among parents, the concept was divisive on the Internet. In the comments section of the posts, some people let their thoughts be known.

“Yay!! Child labor!!” wrote one Facebook commenter.

“This is super weird. Are these people trained in child care?” That is a good question because many states require someone to be licensed in child care for these types of camps.

Among the comments were several tags for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Facebook page.

“Making kids learn fast food instead of reading, crafting, playing music, discovering nature, sports and so many wonderful things a kid can learn is disgusting,” wrote one commenter.

But it wasn't all negative.

“It’s nice to see an offer to teach young children about work ethic and responsibility, while having a little fun at the same time. I’ll ask my daughter if she’s interested in attending," someone commented.

Kids Aren't Working

Representatives for Chick-fil-A said that campers are not working during camps and that Chick-fil-A employees serving as counselors will not take on their usual work tasks. They will do activities with campers, instead.

This is not the first time the chain has hosted a summer camp. A Houston-area Chick-fil-A began the experience six years ago with activities like bingo and trivia, and it's still going.

According to TODAY.com , these camps do not turn a profit, and "the camps are not part of a corporate program."

All Chick-fil-A restaurants are locally owned, so owners create their own programs.

Still, child labor is a concern. Just last year, the Department of Labor noted that investigators found that three McDonald's franchises in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio were found to have children working at the drive-through window and preparing food orders.

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