June 26, 2014

Chick-Fil-A’s Twee New Food Journalism Site


Perhaps hoping to distance itself from its horrendous display of homophobia in 2012, the fast-food chicken chain Chick-Fil-A has launched a folksy new food journalism site called Let’s Gather:

Image from Let’s Gather

Yes really. Check out the actual site, which is now hosting the project’s second issue. Push past the animated bees buzzing around scenically, and don’t get so distracted by this homey idyll that you forget to click on the shabby chic nav tool in the upper right.

Once you do, you might venture over to the about page, which says this: “By exploring the winsome themes found in the everyday blend of our meals, hobbies, and relationships, each issue inspires readers to try a new recipe, think a new thought, and join a new conversation. Ultimately, these are stories that remind us of the joy we experience when we make time to do life together.” (Emphasis added.)

But wait, it gets better. Nestled among the features about stair climbing and giving up groceries is a Q&A with Chick-Fil-A on-staff registered dietitian (don’t even get me started) Jodie Worrell:

Image from Let’s Gather

“We do almost everything from scratch every day—we hand-bread our chicken and squeeze lemons to make our lemonade and prepare our salads fresh every day,” says Worrell. “The list goes on. Most people probably think our food just goes from freezer to fryer, which it doesn’t.”

Gosh, all it takes is breading and chicken and lemons? Well, not exactly. Here’s what Chick-Fil-A’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe—which has 27 grams of fat and a truly mind-boggling 1750 miligrams of sodium—is actually made of:

Am I saying Chick-Fil-A’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe doesn’t taste delicious? No, I am not. But this kind of treacly marketing—usually meant to distract you from something—drives me bonkers. Examples abound: Coca-Cola’s World Cup happiness flag, McDonald’s sites about African American and Asian American culture, and Monsanto’s video profiles of American farm families, to name just a few.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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