OLNEY, MD — A hundred people lined up to receive free food Wednesday morning. Little did they know they’d each soon be working to feed another hundred people each.
Chick-Fil-A’s long held “First 100” tradition, in which the first one hundred customers at each new location received a year’s worth of weekly free meals, was given a fresh twist with this week’s opening of the franchise in Olney, Maryland.
Eager chicken lovers braved early winter cold to await their prize, and were provided with entertainment, games, prizes and free meals to help pass the 24 hours they were required to spend camping outside the restaurant. And they were also recruited to help with a bit of local charity.
Franchise owner Erik Amick brought the semi-frozen recruits inside and lined them up assembly line-style to help package 10,000 meals for a local organization, Nourish Now in Rockville, in support of Feeding Children Everywhere.
“We set them up in an assembly line, and have different food items down that line, and everyone is given one little job,” said Amick. “We fill the bags up, and it all gets put into a box, and it’s amazing how quickly it can all be done,” he added.
In addition, the restaurant is collecting non-perishable food items in support of the Manna Food Center and the Olney Help food bank after its official opening Thursday morning.
“The community has been very welcoming to us, and we’re super-excited to open our doors and start serving the community,” says Amick.
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