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DRAPER — Chick-fil-A's stance against same-sex marriage stirred up protests across the country, and now they're spilling into Draper Elementary, which has partnered with a franchisee for free food.
Canyons Schools said there are no politics behind a Chick-fil-a franchisee's generosity to Draper Elementary, no matter the chain's president's opposition of same-sex marriage.
Spokesman Jeff Haney said kids will get free lunches on their birthdays, eat them with the principal "and talk to them about their academics: how they're feeling about reading, can they do their math problems, what they like about science. They'll feel special on a day when they should feel special."
Haney said one parent told the principal that she could have made a deal with a less controversial business, but Haney said this owner has given to schools long before all the nationwide attention. And parents at Draper say it's just chicken.
"If they think that by any means they're going to get a vote, or not a vote, for gay marriage based on a chicken sandwich for a kid's birthday lunch, I think that's pretty insane," said Jessica Anderson, who has a daughter at the school.
Chick-fil-a President Dan Cathy opposes same-sex marriage. The chain was at the center of a controversy earlier this summer over freedom of speech and whether corporations should take political positions.
Comments made by Cathy led to uproar on both sides as some ate at Chick-fil-A to show their support for the business, and others boycotted it.
