Southington 5-Year-Old Gets Unhappy Meal at McDonald's

A 5-year-old Southington girl was confused Saturday when her father brought home a Happy Meal that was supposed to include chicken nuggets but instead contained only garbage or, worse, a poorly thought-out practical joke.

After bringing home two Happy Meals from the McDonald’s on Queen Street, the family discovered the box that was supposed to have chicken nuggets was filled with barbeque sauce and nothing else. The rest of the bag was filled with a few fries and a package of apple slices.

“We didn’t even order barbeque sauce with the meal, so there’s no way a packet could have exploded or anything like that,” said the girl’s mother, who asked that the family’s name be withheld. “Obviously they gave us some kind of garbage — definitely not something you would serve a kid.”

What remains unclear is whether it was an accident or meant to be a joke.

“To us it didn’t seem very accidental,” the Southington mother said. “It felt like it was intentional, some kind of sick joke — in a bag of food that was meant for a child."

"My daughter is 5 and a half, she couldn’t understand why somebody would do that to her Happy Meal.”

The family called the Queen Street McDonald’s, which offered them a replacement Happy Meal. They declined and reached out to McDonald’s headquarters, who promptly responded.

“They said they were taking it seriously, they were apologetic and embarrassed by the situation that seems to be at hand,” she said.

The McDonald’s spokesperson informed them that they would review the security footage to find out exactly what transpired.

The mother said she would like to see someone step forward and admit to what happened.

“If it was a joke, I’d like them to apologize and, honestly, I don’t think they deserve to work there,” she said. “If it was an accident, then they need better training and supervision. [If it was trash] my concern is what could happen to someone’s child.”

As a local, she said, she just wants to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

The Queen Street McDonald's received a score of 89 during its last health inspection, Jan. 21, with no major violations and no complaints filed with the Health Department.