Publix Charities donates $100,000 to Polk County school food pantries; district lists initial distribution

Publix Charities presented a $100,000 donation to Polk County Public Schools on Nov. 18 to support school food pantries across the district.

Jeanette Crowley, director of strategic planning and partnerships, described the partnership and explained that her team and district staff completed site visits to assess pantry needs. John Doran, representing Publix Charities, said the donation is intended to "augment the existing partnerships and donations that the schools have established," and to improve food variety, quality and quantity at participating pantries.

Crowley and Doran detailed an initial distribution plan: select community-supported sites will receive $1,000 and programmatically supported sites will receive $500 as an initial distribution, with the potential for adjustments over time based on need. Crowley read a list of the schools identified for the initial distributions, including Crystal Lake Middle, Davenport School of the Arts, George Jenkins Senior High, Lakeland Senior High, Southwest Middle, Spook Hill Elementary and several others.

Doran said Publix Charities staff conducted extensive county travel and site visits to inform the distribution and that the donation is planned as an ongoing partnership to evolve and better meet site-specific needs. Board members thanked the charity and recognized participating schools and staff.

District staff said a group photo and recognition would follow; the board then moved on to subsequent agenda items.