Publix starts initiative to help both ends of the food chain during coronavirus pandemic
With both the farm and the table ends of the food supply chain concerned by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Publix decided to help by acting as the benevolent middle man.
The resulting plan began publicly Wednesday with Publix donating fresh produce and milk to Feeding South Florida, which calls itself the region’s largest food bank.
Publix’s plan, announced Tuesday, is simple. The Florida supermarket giant buys fresh vegetables, fruit and milk from farmers, some of whom found themselves with too much product and not enough revenue after restaurant demand dwindled.
That food bought by Publix is then given to Feeding America’s food banks. The organization expects to need it. More families facing unemployment in the coronavirus economic fallout caused Feeding America to revise its projection of “food insecure children” to 18 million, surpassing the 17.2 million the USDA reported in 2009 after the economic crash.
To find the nearest Feeding America food bank, click here.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
