Publix Super Markets Charities donated $5 million to 18 Feeding America member food banks, schools, and other nonprofit organizations across seven states in its Southeast region Wednesday afternoon. The Jimmie Hale Mission was one of several Birmingham-area nonprofits to benefit from the organization’s generosity receiving $20,000 which will translate into more than 10,000 meals for the homeless and hungry in our community. Publix Charities has donated more than $22 million over the last five years to support nonprofits in hunger relief efforts.
“Millions of people in the Southeast – many of them children and seniors – may not know where they will find their next meal,” said Kelly Williams-Puccio, executive director of Publix Super Markets Charities. “Together, we can help change that. We are proud to continue our commitment to feeding communities across the Southeast and offer dignity and nourishment to our neighbors in need.”
This commitment is evidenced in the long-standing partnership that the Mission has had with both Publix Super Markets Charities and local Publix stores. In 2018, the Mission assisted more than 2,100 guests across its three shelters and these financial gifts, coupled with thousands of pounds of in-kind donations, helped provide these clients with the nourishment they so desperately needed.
According to the USDA, one-in-eight people across the U.S. struggles with hunger, while one-in-five children in the Birmingham-area face this grave reality accord figures provided by Publix Super Markets Charities. This devastating reality was echoed extensively in a study released last year where the Food Research & Action Center ranked Alabama fourth in food hardship.
The Mission served more than 200,000 meals last year in an effort to combat these negative statistics and the incredible generosity of Publix Super Markets Charities and local Publix stores helped make that possible.