The author, John Marek, is executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.
Last week, I wrote about Morgan Spurlock’s documentary, “Super Size Me.” One of the criticisms often leveled at this film is that “no one would ever eat just McDonald’s for 30 days.” While it’s certainly true that most folks wouldn’t, there are circumstances under which a person might eat two or three fast-food meals almost every day for six months. I know this for a fact, because I did it.
Over the winter and spring of 1985-86, I worked as a marketing/management intern for Wendy’s. As with most internships, the job paid very little, but there was one intriguing fringe benefit, free food. Basically, I was allowed to eat anything off the menu during “working hours,” and believe me, I took full advantage of the opportunity. This was back in the era when Wendy’s served breakfast and had an extensive salad bar, so it wasn’t quite as bad as it sounds, but, still, I consumed a lot of burgers and fries. Back in those days I had the metabolism of a jackrabbit on speed, so I didn’t gain much, if any, weight, and as far as I can tell there were no other health issues associated with my burger-heavy diet. I will say, though, that by the end of the internship, I had completely lost my taste for Wendy’s – couldn’t, in fact, even stand the smell of the place – and it would be years before I ate at one again.
One of the challenges of eating at the same fast-food restaurant every day over an extended period of time was trying to create some variety. For the first few weeks I stuck to the posted menu, but as I got more comfortable with the stores I started branching out into my own concoctions. Chicken with chili and bacon. Mexican burger bowl. Italian baked potato. At the time, Wendy’s offered an apple dumpling with cinnamon sauce. It never sold well, but was actually pretty tasty. Toss a slice of cheese and some vanilla pudding on that and you really had something.
While it’s true I didn’t eat Wendy’s every single day, the fare on my days off didn’t exactly consist of kale salad and grilled tuna steak. For the most part, it was canned pasta and pizza. And there was a Rax roast beef across the street from the Norwalk store, so I occasionally supplemented my fast food with more fast food.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of my Wendy’s days, though, was the soda situation. I hadn’t really caught on to coffee yet, but I almost always had a cup of Coke in my hand. I probably drank half a gallon of the stuff a day. The caffeine was likely the only thing keeping me from falling into a sugar coma.
Shortly after my time at Wendy’s came to an end, I married and moved to Toledo where there was a whole new world of fast food to explore. The Best Products store where I worked had a Long John Silver’s and a McDonald’s in the parking lot, and a G.D. Ritzy’s (sort of a Dairy Queen with slightly more food options) just down the road, and the long and erratic work schedule of a retail manager ensured that I continued to eat more than my share of processed, fried and calorie-filled fast food. At least it wasn’t the same place day after day.