The Duggar Family trooped to the nearest Chick-fil-A joint in their area on Tuesday, dressed in their adorable cow costumes in exchange for free meals. "Counting On" star Jessa (Duggar) Seewald shared photos showing their fun-filled day on her Instagram account.

The Duggars make the Chick-fil-A event an ongoing family tradition

Chick-fil-A declared July 11 as its 13th annual "Cow Appreciation Day," when they give a free chicken entree to any customer who comes in his or her best cow-inspired outfit. The Duggar family has been going to this annual meal deal for years, as seen in this photo below, taken from two years ago.

Now, it looks like they plan to make the event a family tradition. This year, the younger Duggar kids were dressed in their makeshift cow costumes--plain white tees with black spots made of art paper. They also fashioned cow ears using old headbands. Jessa wasn't wearing a costume but she brought her five-month-old son Henry, who was in an adorable cow onesie.

It looks like only Jessa and Jana were the only adults who accompanied their younger siblings this year. Jill Dillard, of course, has just given birth to her second son over the weekend, so she couldn't join the fun.

Their eldest brother Josh Duggar, who has four young children, was also missing in the pictures. Fans are interested to find out whether he's making more appearances now that he recently returned to the spotlight after the Duggar family released a video of him greeting Jill on her second child's arrival.

The Duggars get flak for wanting free meals

While the Duggars' recent trip to Chick-fil-A would seem like a normal family affair, the reality stars are receiving flak from the public. In the Facebook fan page "Duggar Family News: Life is not all pickles and hairspray," netizens expressed their dismay at the famously large "19 Kids and Counting" family for taking advantage of the free meal promo when they could afford to pay for their own food.

"They can afford to buy food so why not leave the freebies to someone who might not be able to afford it or is homeless?" one critic commented.

"f I were the manager and saw The Duggars coming I would have locked the door!" another one wrote.

But many fans are also defending the Duggars, pointing out that there's nothing wrong with getting an innocent freebie once in a while. Also, it's nice to see the Duggar kids enjoy an occasion such as this when they can play dress up and have fun. Being conservative Christians, Duggar kids aren't allowed to celebrate Halloween so dressing up as cows may be the closest thing they'll get to a costume party.

What did you think of the Duggars' Chick-fil-A outing? Sound off your opinions in the comments below!
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