Publix ranked No. 4 on the 2026 PEOPLE Companies that Care list

LAKELAND, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Great Place To Work^® and PEOPLE^® magazine have honored Publix as one of the 2026 PEOPLE Companies that Care. The list highlights top U.S. companies that are successful in business while demonstrating respect, care and concern for their employees, communities and the planet.

“At Publix, we are committed to supporting our associates and giving back to the communities we serve,” said Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous. “Our founder, George Jenkins, set an example of caring for both associates and the community, and we’re honored to continue a legacy of service that values people, strengthens communities and remains central to who we are more than 95 years later.”

Care for associates

Publix is committed to being a great place to work and offers an extensive benefits package. From company ownership to a promote-from-within culture, Publix believes in investing in its associates. Publix is also the largest employee-owned company in the U.S., offering associates the opportunity to become company owners through its employee stock ownership plan, 401(k) plan and employee stock purchase plan.

Care for neighbors in need

The company takes its role as a responsible member of its communities seriously. Helping care for our neighbors is at the heart of what Publix is. Through the Good Together food donation program, Publix provides safe, unsold food from its deli, grocery, meat and produce departments to Feeding America partner food banks and the local agencies they serve. Publix donated over 140 million pounds of food in 2025, a single-year record for the program, which began in 2009.

Care for the environment

Publix believes caring for the environment means both improving its operations and supporting projects that help restore and protect natural resources.

In 2025, the company recycled more than 800 million pounds of materials, including 616 million pounds of cardboard, which equates to saving 5.3 million trees, 2.2 billion gallons of water and 2.8 million barrels of oil.

This April, customers and associates donated nearly $2 million during Publix’s Good Together environmental campaign. Since the campaign launched in 2024, donations raised in Florida have funded initiatives protecting the state’s waterways and coastlines, including the removal of nearly 65,000 pounds of harmful marine debris through the National Park Foundation and FORCE BLUE. In the company’s other seven operating states, campaign donations helped plant over 1.7 million trees to rebuild forests through the Arbor Day Foundation.

Methodology

Great Place To Work selected the 2026 PEOPLE Companies that Care List by gathering and analyzing nearly 970,000 confidential survey responses from employees working at Great Place To Work Certified organizations that are eligible for this list. Rankings are partly based on 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place To Work Trust Index Survey, and essays submitted by participating companies also factored into the rankings.

To read about the ranking and see the PEOPLE Companies that Care list, visit https://www.greatplacetowork.com/companies-that-care/2026.

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 260,000 associates, currently operates 1,442 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. For 29 consecutive years, the company has been recognized by Fortune as a great place to work. In addition, Publix’s dedication to superior quality and customer service is recognized among the top in the grocery business. For more information, visit the company’s newsroom at corporate.publix.com/newsroom.