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 FamilyMarts all across Japan today, back in 1973 there was only one, the very first FamilyMart in the town of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture.
But even though FamilyMart 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 FamilyMart 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 FamilyMart’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 FamilyMart 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 FamilyMart’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.
Source: PR Times, Yomiuri Shimbun, Livedoor News
Insert images: PR Times
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Japan’s newest potato chip flavor: Convenience store fried chicken
-- Japanese convenience store chain running out of fried chicken, takes precautions to save Christmas
-- Japan super budget dining – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at Family Mart?
© SoraNews24
English (US) · 