Recently, Wendy’s has released a new special, the “4 for $4.” In this combo customers can get fries, a sandwich, chicken nuggets and a drink all for just $4. Prior to this special, customers, including myself, would only order 2 out of the 4 food options available in this special. Now, since all of these items are available in a package, ordering customers are urged to eat more because it is actually saving them money. Instead of saying, “I would like an order of french fries, chicken nuggets, a bacon cheeseburger, and a soda,” they simply have to say, “I would like the 4 for $4.” This shows that bundling orders promotes obesity because customers are encouraged to consume larger portion sizes. This leads customers to feel less self conscious about the amount of food they are actually receiving while simultaneously promoting sales because more people will order this as a bundle.
I had learned about this special through an advertisement on Facebook. Over 73,000 people “liked” it and over 8,000 shared it to their profiles. This is an effective strategy used by Wendy’s because they are targeting their customers through social media which promotes hunger and salivation by seeing pictures and videos of this food. This is promoting an obesogenic environment because in the 21st century, advertisements are everywhere. Now, since this is
on Facebook; the advertisement can be “shared” to other people who don’t even follow Wendy’s, which is how I stumbled upon this advertisement.
This meal is also very portable which makes it easy to eat in non-traditional eating environments. Drive-Thru’s have created a shift in the social norm, making it acceptable for people to have full meals in their cars, or just snack on fries while driving. Companies are aware that people are more likely to overeat when the super sizing option is available, but they use this regardless to increase their sales.
The Staten Island Diner seemed like a nice enough spot to grab a bite to eat. The interior was bright and welcoming, and those inside seemed to be enjoying their meal. Anyone who is a native to the Island and have had the pleasure of dining here before, may have their own opinion on the spot, but for us it was a great and easy place to get some food. Just like many other diners, when we got the menu, we saw that it had pages and pages of options. Not only did they have pancakes and french toast, but they had entire rows of toppings and flavors. This was something that is pretty typical of a diner 
environment so I didn’t thing much of it, and ordered Nutella and peanut butter pancakes because I was feeling particularly indulgent and why not? I’m young. When the food arrived all looked good and we couldn’t wait to dig in. But in my pancakes, I had a tiny symbol starting back at me. Stuck into my flapjacks was a tiny American flag. I thought this was ironic considering the size of the meal (which was much larger than I had assumed it would be). This got me thinking, is this obsession with large portion sizes and the diner mentality of bigger being better a universal thing across the country? 
Has every diner you’ve been to had the same staple in size? Or is it just something that is prevalent on the East Coast? I was wondering if anyone else has had experience with this and could share their thoughts. Here is a picture of my meal. Though delicious, it was definitely too much for me to eat in one sitting, and was unfortunately at the mercy of an unprepared customer. Hopefully some of you who have been across the country can add to this post. It the size of a ‘diner portion’ standard?
food side of Port Richmond was also very interesting. Almost 20 restaurants line the streets of Port Richmond Avenue. Among these restaurants there were many Spanish and Chinese cuisine restaurants. There was even an Irish Pub. One of the restaurants was something quite uncommon, a bakery that also serves many different types of dinner dishes. In the shop there is not only cake, ice cream, but also chicken entrees and pizza pies! Although this may seem unconventional, it is quite interesting.
opened one, which specialized in tamales, it’s decorations actually made me want to eat there more. It’s amazing how many different elements can go into a “where should we eat” decision. The idea that a restaurant being nicely or culturally decorated can make a person want to eat there is very interesting to me.