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Publix Celebrates Sustainability with 395,000 Sixth Grade Students

LAKELAND, Fla., April 22, 2009 — Publix Super Markets in conjunction with local newspapers and their Newspapers in Education (NIE) curriculum helped reach over 17,900 public and private school teachers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee and teach  over 395,000 sixth grade students timely information on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices. Topics included: What is Sustainability?, Precycle: Stopping the Trash Before it Starts, Shopping for the Environment. 

“Raising an environmentally aware culture takes everyone doing their part,” said Maria Brous, Publix director of media and community relations. “As a responsible grocer and community partner, we wanted tomorrow’s shoppers to understand how the choices they make today affect our planet in years to come. Our partnership with NIE proved to be an important vehicle in accomplishing our mission.”

The Publix Sustainability program culminated with the sixth graders participating in the Publix Design-A-Bag contest.  Students were encouraged to creatively  apply what they had learned in the classroom and submit their original artwork. The winning design would be placed on a reusable bag exclusively provided to all sixth grade educators who participated in the program. Publix received over 1,900 student entries.

One finalist from each of Publix’s five operating states was selected for consideration of the grand prize. Each finalist received a $25 Publix gift card and a party for their class valued at $100. Finalists included Cameron from Birmingham, Ala.; Arielle from Windermere, Fla.; Valerie from Greenville, S.C.; and Allison from Murfreesboro, Tenn. 

Savannah from Flowery Branch, Ga., was selected as the winning designer. In addition to having her design printed on the bags, Savannah received a $100 Publix card, a party for her class valued at $100, and two tickets to the theme park of her choice.

To view all the finalist designs visit www.publix.com\sustainability.