Towleroad reported on March 19 that Chipotle Mexican Grill is one of the last corporate sponsors left for a major fundraiser by the Boy Scouts of America. The chain eatery has donated food for the Utah Scout-A-Rama being run by the Great Salt Lake Council.
The Salt Lake City group usually raises $70,000 at this annual event, but donations are down to under $8,000 this year. Many corporations and individuals have stopped supporting the national organization over its refusal to stop discriminating against gay members.
Chipotle Mexican Grill told Think Progress that, “We have built our brand largely by reaching out to people on a grassroots level and have done that working with a variety of community groups around the country, including school groups, youth sports, pride events, music festivals, food events and farmers’ markets, among many others. Our intention in doing that isn’t to endorse the policies of those groups, but rather to reach individuals (in this case the scouts themselves) through groups that are important in a given community. These decisions are made by a team of people around the country with the intention of connecting our restaurants with people in those communities.”
The chain also added, “That being said, this decision is not consistent with our own values, and we have used this opportunity to reinforce those values with the team that makes those decisions for us.”
The Boy Scouts of America has become an increasingly conservative group since its takeover by the Church of Latter Day Saints. Mormons have taken the 'morally straight' part of the scout oath and twisted it to apply towards a boy’s sexual orientation. Historians note this line has nothing to do with sexuality.
UPDATE 3/19/2013 11:45 AM CST: Chipotle has terminated their sponsorship of this event.
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