50M pounds of produce donated to Feeding America member food banks

April 27, 2022

Today, we announced that we’ve donated more than 50 million pounds of produce as part of our initiative to support farmers and food banks in the Southeast. Launched in response to farmers being forced to discard produce they could no longer sell due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we began purchasing produce directly from impacted farmers and donating it to food banks throughout our operating area. 

As food insecurity continued to affect communities, we combined this initiative with a point-of-sale campaign to create Feeding More Together, which provides both produce and nonperishable food items to food banks. Through this campaign, we match customer donations at the register, which provide nonperishable food items, with an equivalent value of fresh produce.

“Providing nourishment to people facing food insecurity is fundamental to our mission of being responsible citizens in our communities,” said CEO Todd Jones. “In America, 1 in 8 people currently face hunger. With the help of our associates and customers, we can do good together while supplying the foods individuals and families need to thrive.” 

“As the number of individuals turning to food banks remains high, the donations from Publix help our network provide hope, dignity and nourishment to people facing food insecurity,” said Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot. “Continued support from Publix, and their donations of fresh produce, help Feeding America member food banks provide more quality food to our neighbors when they need it. We are so grateful for our collaboration.” 

In addition to these donations, associates support our perishable recovery program by gathering dairy, deli, meat and produce that is wholesome but unsalable and donating it to food banks throughout our operating area. Since the start of the program in 2007, we have donated enough perishable food to provide nearly 560 million meals to food banks. And over 12 years, our register campaigns in support of hunger alleviation have resulted in more than $135 million in food donations.

Visit publix.com/hunger to learn more about our commitment to hunger relief efforts.