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Convenience store fried chicken going into school lunches in Japan for Family Mart anniversary

Casey Baseel Dec 14, 2024
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Famichiki to be part of public school meals on special day in Family Mart’s original hometown.

There’s a saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and by extension it’s also true that a convenience store chain of 16,000 branches starts with a single shop. So while you can find Family Marts all across Japan today, back in 1973 there was only one, the very first Family Mart in the town of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture.

But even though Family Mart has gone on to nationwide and even international success, it hasn’t forgotten its roots, which is why this month kids in Sayama will be given Family Mart fried chicken as part of their school lunches.

▼ No word on if Sayama school English teachers are being given special training to cope with the unusual syntax on the wrapper.

Specifically, it’s Family Mart’s Famichiki boneless fried chicken fillets, the chain’s best-selling item, that will be part of school lunches for 15 elementary schools and eight junior high schools in Sayama’s public school system, with Family Mart providing 10,500 pieces of seasoned and breaded chicken which will be cooked at the city’s school lunch kitchen center for the special one-day meal, which is officially part of Family Mart’s 70th anniversary celebration. And no, the schools won’t just be giving their kids a Famichiki and calling it a meal in itself. Though the fried chicken is serving as the main dish, it’ll still be accompanied by the schools’ regular sides such as soup, salad, and fruit.

▼ At schools that serve the Famichiki with bread, it’ll be a near-certainty that some kids will use it to make their own Famichiki burger.

It says a lot about food culture in modern Japan that the public reaction to feeding kids convenience store fried chicken for lunch has been more or less “Cool – sounds tasty.” Chalk it up to the overall excellent quality of convenience store food in Japan, plus the general acceptance and adherence to the idea that as long as you’re not eating them all the time, fried foods are an acceptable and enjoyable occasional indulgence. It’s worth pointing out that karaage, Japanese-style fried chicken, is also part of the schools’ meal rotation, so it’s not like Famichiki is breaking any sort of no-fried chicken protocols here.

The Famichiki lunches will be served at Sayama middle schools on December 19, and at elementary schools on December 20. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t a little jealous of those kids, but at least there are special adults-only ways to enjoy Famichiki too.

Source: PR Times, Yomiuri Shimbun, Livedoor News
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