Following the exceptional success of the Student Hunger Drive efforts, PV decided to reward its students by bringing Chick-fil-A to the lunchroom, further emphasizing that any selfless deed should be followed with a tangible reward.
Pleasant Valley’s student council, Spartan Assembly, worked tirelessly each day to ensure the success of the Hunger Drive. They announced in early November that PV has received a first place finish with donations totaling over 65,000 pounds.
Principal Darren Erickson announced early in the school year that a Chick-fil-A lunch would be served if the goal of 60,000 pounds was met. After the results came, “Chick-fil-A Day” was scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5.
The popular fast food chain located in Davenport already attracts hundreds of PV students. Bringing the restaurant’s food to school was completely unnecessary and goes against the true meaning of the Student Hunger Drive.
Pleasant Valley and other surrounding schools participate in this event to help families that are food insecure and struggle to provide for their families. PV spent hundreds of dollars on Chick-fil-A sandwiches to sell to students, when this money really should have gone towards helping those who truly need it.
Many students also abstain from eating meat or are not able to because of allergies or religious expression. Until recently, Chick-fil-A also donated money to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations, driving many students to refuse the service of the popular chain.
Senior Margaret Huang is a member of Spartan Assembly and greatly impacted the success of the Hunger Drive. Huang is gluten-intolerant and the school’s reward discriminates against those with restrictions by assuming all students will enjoy this offering.
“The lack of gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options offered on Chick-fil-A day serves as a reminder that despite the solidarity shown during the six week long marathon of the student hunger drive, those with dietary restrictions remain isolated from the rest of society,” said Huang.
Senior Olivia Marchiori is yet another student, amongst many, that has chosen to exclude meat from her diet. Although this is a choice, Marchiori feels left out from her peers because chicken sandwiches do not align with her values.
“Although everybody should be donating because it is a good deed, if the school is supplying a reward, they need to make sure all students are included and feel equal instead of forgotten,” said Marchiori.
As students crowded the lunchroom lines on Thursday to feast on the hundreds of dollars spent on fast food, others throughout the district wondered where their next meal would come from. Instead of placing the focus on rewards, the school should encourage students to think about how this money could have been donated to the real cause: ending nation-wide hunger.
