Chick-fil-A offers free food March 24 to those taking online diabetes risk test

The nine Chick-fil-A restaurants in San Diego County, including the restaurants in Oceanside at Quarry Creek at 3475 Marron Road, in Encinitas at 104 North El Camino Real, and in San Marcos at 587 Grand Ave., in support of the American Diabetes Association’s “Alert Day,” will reward customers with a free food giveaway on Tuesday, March 24.

Held annually on the fourth Tuesday in March, the ADA’s Alert Day encourages people to find out their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by taking the ADA’s diabetes risk test at www.diabetes.org/socalalert. The test, consisting of eight questions covering such topics as family history, weight and age, takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

Anyone who visits a local Chick-fil-A restaurant between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. March 24, and shows proof they completed the diabetes risk test, will receive their choice of a free Chick-fil-A grilled chicken sandwich entrée or a free eight-piece grilled nugget entrée — menu items that have been approved by the American Diabetes Association as healthy eating options for people with diabetes.

Proof can include either a printout from the website page or showing the risk test’s final page on a smart phone. No personal information or test results will be collected. No purchase is required. Limit of one free entree per customer per day. Not valid with meals purchases.

The ADA says an estimated 29 million Americans have diabetes, including about 230,000 San Diego County residents. As many as 25 percent of people with diabetes are not aware they have the disease, according to Larissa Roman, executive director of the ADA office in San Diego. “Alert Day becomes a wake-up call for many people,” Roman said. “Diagnosis of diabetes often comes seven to 10 years after the onset of the disease. Early diagnosis is critical to successful treatment.”