Chipotle Is Trying to Buy Your Friendship with Free Food Deals

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Once upon a time, before Chipotle was synonymous with E. coli and wage theft, the Mexican grill was loved by millions. Now in an effort to regain the trust of its once-loyal patrons, Chipotle is launching a string of promotional deals to coax cautious eaters back into the fold, the New York Post reports.

This month, the floundering fast-food chain plans to offer free drinks for high school students and free meals for kids under 12 every Sunday. The deals are clearly aimed to get the youth back on the burrito bandwagon, since their parents are probably still pretty upset about the whole "pooping blood" thing.

Chipotle's problems first erupted back in 2015 when hundreds of cases of norovirus, salmonella, and E. coli were traced back to locations across the US. The company published a record of the incidents, realizing you can't exactly sweep a rancid burrito bowl under the rug without people noticing.

It's hard to say if some free fountain drinks will help Chipotle bounce back from the 44 percent profit fall it's suffered since last year, but the chain seems pretty desperate to get you in the door. But hey, if everything works out, maybe it can get someone to eat its food every day for almost half a year again.

Read: Meet the Guy Who's Been Eating Chipotle Every Day for Five Months