With 1.3 million pound gift, Publix doubles produce donation to food banks

Publix is closing out the year with a second announcement of a major produce donation.

The latest donation, announced Monday, is 1.3 million pounds of fresh produce the Lakeland-based grocery giant is purchasing and delivering to 32 Feeding America partner food banks this holiday season. The announcement, according to a statement, follows another 1.3 million pounds of produce Publix donated at Thanksgiving.

The donations, the release states, are part of the company’s commitment through its biannual Feeding More Together register campaign. Publix donates $10 million each year to purchase and deliver produce to Feeding America partner food banks. Customer donations provide shelf-stable and additional perishable food for local food banks and pantries, the release adds. In 2023 alone, Publix has donated more than 24 million pounds of produce to Feeding America partner food banks.

Of the 32 food banks in the program this year, seven are in Florida and two — Feeding Tampa Bay and the Harry Chapin Food Bank in Naples and Fort Myers — are on the west coast of the state. 

“As we head into a season that should be full of joy, many families and individuals in our communities struggle to put food on their tables,” Publix CEO Todd Jones says in the statement. “We want to help make this time a little brighter by providing fresh produce for people in need. At Publix, we’re committed to helping alleviate hunger and doing good, together for our communities.”

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 250,000 associates, currently operates 1,359 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. The company, which recently announced Jones will become executive chairman in 2024 and President Kevin Murphy will become CEO, had   $54.5 billion in revenue in 2022.