Last week, a Minnesota hospital issued a profuse apology to staff after failing to abide by its “values of respect and justice” — by giving out free Chick-fil-A.

Staff at Essentia Health in Duluth complained about the free sandwiches available last Tuesday in the St. Mary’s Medical Center’s atrium, an email chain obtained by The Daily Wire shows.

“Please spread the word that Chick-fil-A will be handing out free sandwiches” from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. wrote Tammy Kritzer, senior vice president for regional operations at Essentia Health.

Several health care professionals responded indignantly.

“Chick-fil-A is an Anti-LGBTQ+ business and I would not recommend supporting them in any way. We need to protect vulnerable communities during this time and at all times,” one male licensed practical nurse wrote.

“I’m not sure Essentia realizes the message they are sending to their LGBTQ+ employees (or patients) with this affiliation. The sandwiches might be free, but the implicit endorsement certainly has a cost,” wrote a medical laboratory scientist whose email signature has “they/them” pronouns.

The emails critical of Chick-fil-A got dozens of thumbs up and heart emoji reactions, while another message suggesting the staffers calm down did not get such a warm response.

“It is just a Sandwich,” one employee responded. “Plenty of the items Essentia Health uses in the healthcare industry to include supplies and equipment were likely made in China. It doesn’t mean that Essentia supports communism or government oppression.”

Chick-fil-A has drawn the ire of LGBT activists over the years, who have boycotted and staged protests over the company donating to groups like the Salvation Army, which activists claim has “a record of anti-LGBTQ discrimination.” In fact, the company emphasizes that it “values diversity, equity and inclusion” and does not discriminate or tolerate harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Some cities have prevented Chick-fil-A from opening locations at their airports, including Buffalo, New York, and San Antonio, Texas. The chain famously does not open on Sundays to honor the Lord’s Day, Chick-fil-A’s founder explained, likely causing it to lose more than $1 billion a year.

Later in the day, Kritzer, the hospital administrator, who has “she/her” pronouns in her email signature, wrote to staff apologizing for the free lunch.

“We have received feedback from some colleagues who were concerned or offended by this occurrence, and we value colleagues feeling comfortable expressing their reservations,” Kritzer wrote.

“We would like to thank our colleagues who had the courage to speak up to widen our lens of inclusivity, and we appreciate all colleagues continuing to live our values of respect and justice,” she said.

The hospital distanced itself from Chick-fil-A in the email, writing that the free lunch was “not intended to endorse a business or business practices,” the email said.