We believe everyone should be able to be informed about the place they live so we don't charge to read LkldNow. Instead of paywalls or subscription fees, we rely on contributions from readers like you to fund our journalism. Give Monthly, One-time or Once a Year.
Stay in the know
Get the scoop on what’s happening in Lakeland. Sign up to our weekly newsletter to get all your local news in one email!
Thank you for being a LkldNow reader!
An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link.
LkldNow is your truly local, independent news. No paywall. No subscription fees. No opinions. Just the local news you need.
It would take 22,223 fully loaded Publix tractor trailers to hold 1 billion pounds of food. | Publix
3-minute read
Every week, food pantries across Polk County give free groceries to people who are struggling to pay their bills and keep their families fed. A lot of that food comes from well-known stores, including Publix.
Publix announced Thursday that it has reached a milestone: more than 1 billion pounds of food donated to food banks.
Lakes Church, 1010 E. Memorial Blvd, has a food pantry on Tuesdays and Wednesdays by appointment and community dinner on Tuesdays at 6 p.m.
Blessings and Hope Food Pantry, 2150 E. Edgewood Drive, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday. Check-in is required in the parking lot at 4730 Lakeland Highlands Road, across from Highland Park Church.
Dream Center and Moving Hope food distribution, 635 W. 5th St. Register at the Dream Center pavilion on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. Choose groceries from the shopping line between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. After the first time, participants must earn vouchers by attending a class or prayer session.
Believer’s Fellowship food pantry, 5240 N. Socrum Loop Road, on Mondays at 11 a.m. and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. in the Youth Hall.
Harmony Missionary Baptist Church, 1645 N. Webster Ave., has a food pantry on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aid is limited; families can access the pantry once per month.
Agape Mission Market, St. Joseph Multi-Ministry Service Center, 210 W. Lemon St., on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
How it works: Since 2009, Publix has donated food from its stores’ deli, grocery, meat and produce departments that is no longer saleable but is safe for consumption.
In September, it named its effort the Good Together program and added more than 4,000 products for donation.
Publix delivers the items to 35 food banks across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
In 2024, Publix donated over 115 million pounds of food — a single-year record for the program.
An estimated 101,170 Polk County residents, about 13.7% of the population, are considered “food insecure,” according to Feeding America. That means there are times when they run out of food or can’t access high-quality food. | Cindy Glover, LkldNow
Food banks vs. food pantries: Food banks are centralized hubs that collect food from food donations and food drives. They usually have warehouses with cold and freezer storage. Feeding Tampa Bay recently opened a new $60 million, 215-square-foot facility called the Causeway Center.
On its website, Feeding Tampa Bay lists 13 food partners in addition to Publix that donate large quantities of food. They are:
Aldi
Amazon
Bimbo’s Bakery
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Costco
Gordon Food Service
JGL Produce
Sam’s Club
Sprouts Farmer’s Market
Sunset Growers
Target
Walmart
Winn Dixie
What does 1 billion pounds of food look like? It would take 22,223 fully loaded Publix tractor-trailers to hold that much food. If lined up end-to-end, they would cover more than 300 miles. That’s roughly the distance between Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta.
Financial aid to food banks: In addition to food from its stores, Publix runs a biannual campaign when customers can donate at the cash register to help local food banks provide other items to those in need.
Publix donates $5 million in fresh produce purchased from local farmers as part of that campaign.
At its 2025 Hunger Summit this week, Publix Super Markets Charities also announced a $6 million grant opportunity for food banks in its operating areas. The grants can fund one-time projects, such as capital improvements.
Publix Super Markets Charities Executive Director John Doran announces a special grant opportunity at the 2025 Publix Hunger Summit. | Publix
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Cindy's reporting for LkldNow focuses on Lakeland city government. Previously, she was a crime reporter, City Hall reporter and chief political writer for newspapers including the Albuquerque Journal and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She spent a year as a community engagement coordinator for the City of Lakeland before joining LkldNow in 2023. Reach her at cindy@lkldnow.com or 561-212-3429.
Before Publix donates all this food so they can write it off take care the employees first, deli employees are the most underplayed employees at Publix but work the hardest,seriously
Now if only Publix would stop campaign contributions to politicians who are hellbent on making food-insecure Americans even more food insecure.
Before Publix donates all this food so they can write it off take care the employees first, deli employees are the most underplayed employees at Publix but work the hardest,seriously