Publix is buying milk and produce that farmers

[Bayard]

Publix is buying milk and produce that farmers would've been forced to dump and donating it to food banks

Publix announced Wednesday that it would be purchasing excess produce and milk from farmers in its operating area and donating it to food banks.

Food suppliers have lost their usual buyers amid coronavirus-related closures of schools, restaurants, and hotels. Issues in the supply chain have meant that dairy farmers have been forced to dump thousands of gallons of milk and unsold produce has gone to waste.

The southeastern grocery chain said it would give purchased produce and milk directly to Feeding America food banks. It expects to donate more than 150,000 pounds of produce and 43,500 gallons of milk in the first week of the initiative.

"As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic," Publix CEO Todd Jones said in the press release announcing the initiative. "In this time of uncertainty, we are grateful to be able to help Florida's produce farmers, southeastern dairies, and families in our communities."

Food banks around the country have become overwhelmed over the last several weeks as millions of Americans have lost their jobs and schools remain closed. According to the US Labor Department, 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance in the week ending April 18, which brings the five-week total to about 26.5 million.


https://www.businessinsider.com/publix-buying-milk-produce-farmers-donating-food-banks-2020-4

[msongs]

1. buy low, sell high nt

[bullwinkle428]

4. How does one "sell high" by donating?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Volume. NT

[Codeine]

14. Step 3: Profit. nt

[Hortensis]

36. One doesn't. That response maligned Publix unjustly.

What an admirable and important contribution. I'm going to shop at Publix next time out.

[LanternWaste]

12. "All three of your listeners lol nt" most likely agree.

[jimfields33]

2. I heard this yesterday

No wonder I do a lot of my grocery shopping there. They are super!!!

Weird thing about Florida supermarkets....no soup or salad bars!!!!! It took a lot of getting used to. Giant (grocery store) in Maryland when I lived there had a great soup bar and the salad bar was huge. Had everything needed.

[IronLionZion]

9. Even COVID

I would be very nervous about soup and salad bars these days.

[FoxNewsSucks]

11. All the grocery stores around here

closed the salad bar, olive bar, bulk foods and soup bar. The gas stations all discontinued the hotdog grills and letting you grab your own piece of pizza. They discontinued using refill cups, and a lot of them discontinued all fountain and coffee. Caseys moved the coffee pot into the back and you have to have them get your cup & fill it for you.

If only we lived in a country without republicons. . . .

[IronLionZion]

25. Same here

I've seen individually wrapped portions for some things, or they'll keep it behind the screen and an employee would get it for you.

[jimfields33]

21. True, but this is 365 days of the year. They never had them.

[cwydro]

27. The Publix I used to go to had a huge salad bar, Chinese food, chicken, you name it.

This is in NC. I don’t live near that one anymore, but the one I shop at now never had the hot food area. Still a great Publix.

[jimfields33]

31. I wish we did

It must be a Florida law because winn Dixie doesn’t either.

[cwydro]

32. Maybe, this is in NC.

Huge new Publix (it was at the time) in 2015 or 16. Great food, though I usually don’t like buffets.

But the one I visit now has a great deli; they’ve even suspended samples for the time being.

I lived in Florida for years. Loved Publix then and was thrilled when they came up here to NC.

[jimfields33]

33. That's wonderful to have it in NC

[whopis01]

34. I don't know what part of Florida you are in but in Central Florida they have them

And so do the Winn-Dixie stores. It wasn’t that long ago that you would only find them in places like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. But now you see them at most stores.

[marybourg]

3. I wish we had a Publix.

[doc03]

5. Good on them I shop in their stores when in

Florida.

[ehrnst]

7. Like in 'Grapes of Wrath' where they burned the oranges in front of starving Okies. (nt)

[SheltieLover]

8. K&R!

[IronLionZion]

10. DUers can find your local food bank here

https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank

Have some extra cash? donate
Can't afford to buy groceries? ask them

Now is the time for food banks to buy up tons of milk, produce, grains, legumes, etc. real cheap to help farmers and help people. There is plenty of food in America, it just needs to get to the people who need it.

[niyad]

41. Very true, but the food banks need money in order to do this.

[IronLionZion]

42. Then donate money!

[niyad]

43. One needs money in order to donate.

[Bev54]

13. Are they giving away raw milk or

is it being pasteurized by a processor?

[Codeine]

16. It's all safely processed. nt

[usaf-vet]

15. Twice in my life I have seen wasteful destruction of food products. In the early 1960s I worked in

the cranberry growing industry. I don't remember the circumstances that led to an abundance of cranberries on the market. But the government ordered the disposal of dump truck loads of fresh fruit (EDIBLE) cranberries. Growers had to deliver the cranberries to a specified area dump where they were dumped and then sprayed with diesel fuel to make them non-edible.

Then in the mid-1960s, I was stationed as a medic on a military base in the South. The facility I worked in was located next to civilian property. A high chainlink fence separated the base from the off base property. One day after the noon meal several of us were sitting outside behind the facility. We watched large commercial cooking sheets full of cook chicken leftover from the supper meal the night before being dump into the dumpsters. We asked the cooking staff why couldn't we give that chicken to the kids at a daycare center just over the fence rather than toss it. The answer we got was because that would be improper disposal of government property. Most if not all of the kids were kids of the military servicemen.

GO figure.

[jimfields33]

22. Today you have to be careful giving away food

You can be sued at the drop of a hat. I’d never give away food. Cash only.

[LuvNewcastle]

24. You even have to watch your dumpster

in order to make sure no one gets in it and takes the discarded food. My first job was at a Hardee's about 30+ years ago. The manager there would keep the dumpster locked up behind a fence most of the time in order to prevent homeless people from climbing in and taking the food that was thrown away for being too old to sell. The company told him to do that in order to prevent lawsuits from people who might get sick. I knew then how imperfect our system was at distributing food to the needy.

[IronLionZion]

26. Watch Tiger King and find out how get some cheap meat!

Tons of people go through grocery store dumpsters for food in packages. Restaurant dumpsters are not safe.

[LuvNewcastle]

29. I've heard about that show but I don't have

Netflix, so I'm not able to watch it at home. I used to have it, but the network would drop me all the time when I would get in the middle of something. It was aggravating, so I stopped it but I still have Hulu and Amazon and scores of other channels to watch. Hulu has a real-life story about Tiger King, so maybe I'll watch that. I hear it's addictive!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

17. I wonder who is processing the milk and produce.

They can't just send unprocessed milk and produce to food banks and that was not mentioned in the article. There's food safety concerns along with lots of logistics such as storage and transportation.

Perhaps they've aligned with some food processing companies to do that with the expectation of getting tax write-offs or other government support.

If so, sounds like a good partnership for our communities......

[Hortensis]

37. My guess the companies that have been doing it. The dairies

produce it as usual, it's processed wherever it normally is, Publix purchases and donates, and it's shipped to food banks instead of stores. The system's already in place.

Publix CEO Todd Jones: "As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In this time of uncertainty, we are grateful to be able to help Florida's produce farmers, southeastern dairies, and families in our communities."

[KY_EnviroGuy]

38. Thanks, Hortensis. I misinterpreted the OP title.....

thinking it meant they were lending direct support to farmers.

So, in essence they're buying extra finished product through their normal supply chain and donating it directly to food banks, which they probably can write off on their taxes and get some great free publicity.

Sounds like a good publicity plan for any corporation that's heavily profiting from the pandemic such as 3M, Kroger, Lowes and Netflix.

[Hortensis]

40. Not bad PR, but even better emergency food relief.

[cwydro]

18. I like Publix.

I have to drive a bit to get to one, but they’ve done a fantastic job.

They have an associate at the door with the carts...asks which kind of cart you want, and then cleans it before giving it to you. Everyone wearing masks.

Always helpful and friendly.

[Ligyron]

19. I've heard rumors about Publix...

Like they have great stuff, their staff is friendly and they even treat their employees decently.

[jimfields33]

23. It's a bit pricy but it's great

It’s usually upper end incomes. Not Whole Foods or Wegman’s but close.

[cwydro]

28. They're great.

I drive out of my way to shop at one.

Clean always, friendly and helpful employees. And ever since this mess started, they have an associate at the door when you walk in. Asks what kind of cart you want, then wipes it down and hands it over.

Masks everywhere. A little more pricey than some other stores, but I find it worth it.

[iluvtennis]

20. Love it- the right thing to do. Farmers throwing away good food or letting it rot was just WRONG. nt

[Duppers]

30. 👋 Applause!! Publix is one of my favorite markets...

For another reason now.

And we finally have one here.

[Cha]

35. Wonderful!

[Hekate]

39. What a great idea. I wonder if any other grocery chains are going to follow suit? nt