Subway has apologized, saying
We at SUBWAY restaurants place a high value on education, regardless of the setting, and have initiated a number of programs and promotions aimed at educating our youth in the areas of health and fitness.
We sincerely apologize to anyone who feels excluded by our current essay contest. Our intention was to provide an opportunity for traditional schools, many of which we know have trouble affording athletic equipment, to win equipment. Parents who home school their children make a tremendous commitment which we greatly respect, and can provide a terrific education. Our intent was certainly not to exclude home schooled children from the opportunity to win prizes and benefit from better access to fitness equipment.
To address the inadvertent limitation of our current contest and provide an opportunity for even more kids to improve their fitness, we will soon create an additional contest in which home schooled students will be encouraged to participate. When the kids win, everyone wins!
Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for some. (Usually I link to the original story instead of a reposting, but I had an email claiming that the boycott originated with this post. ) This attitude is the perfect example of the “can’t win” situation. You complained, they responded, and you’re miffed because “that’s not good enough”.
Well suck it up and press on kid. Fortunately, you’re in the minority with that attitude. Generally speaking, the posts I’ve seen have been appreciative and positive about Subway’s response.