Why in the world are fast food restaurants selling bags of ice?

NEW YORK - AUGUST 2: Blocks and bags of ice rest in the freezer at the Losquardo/Arctic Glacier Ice Company August 2, 2006 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Company owner Iggy Scalavino said the heat wave has caused a jump in their normal daily production of 400 tons of ice. (Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - AUGUST 2: Blocks and bags of ice rest in the freezer at the Losquardo/Arctic Glacier Ice Company August 2, 2006 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Company owner Iggy Scalavino said the heat wave has caused a jump in their normal daily production of 400 tons of ice. (Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)

If you’ve been to a fast food restaurant recently, you’ve seen them advertise the sale of bags of ice. We did some digging to find out why.

One evening while doing Uber Eats, a friend and I stopped by Burger King to grab some food. When we approached the menu board, I noticed that the Burger King we were at was displaying that they had bags of ice for sale for a $1. Prominently.

Why would a fast food chain openly sell bags of ice for such a low price like they’re running a sale on the Whopper? Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a fast food chain sale this. In fact, McDonald’s is the most infamous, nearly giving away bags for whatever purpose they intend it to be.

When I saw the BK “$1 for Ice” sign flash in red at the menu board, I was done. I needed to do some digging to see why in the world these fast food chains needed to sell bags of ice for the low-low.

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I did Google and Bing searches to find out more about this “ice bag” phenomenon, and I came across a Yahoo story that detailed why these outlets were selling this.

If you’re having a get-together, especially a large one, you are going to be in search of ice bags. Believe it or not, ice isn’t cheap, and the fast food chains are stepping up in a huge way to give customers the same ice they use for a dirt-cheap price tag.

While that gave me an explanation as to why, it still didn’t really satisfy me. People go to fast food restaurants for food, not to buy a pound of ice. Yet, that’s what these chains are banking on now. Getting a Whopper or Big Mac meal, and don’t forget to pick up your ice.

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? That’s because, it is. Have you ever gone to your favorite fast food joint to pick up a bag yourself?