The Goofy Zealot: Why Americans (Should) Love Publix

I entered the grocery store taking in a deep breath, slowly exhaling, looking up to the ceiling, and exclaiming my admiration for the multi-billion dollar supermarket enterprise.

“I (expletive) LOVE PUBLIX”.

A lady near the bakery line with a stroller heard my remarks and immediately started dying of laughter. I couldn’t hold mine back either, so I gave myself a few seconds.

I continued through the store with my goofy energy and striking conversations with other customers.

A few people stared at me as if I were a maniac. A few others shared in my enthusiasm.

Another guy actually helped me find what I was looking for and gave me a recommendation for a new canned tea to try.

“I think I’m going to take all of these,” he said, but then proceeded to leave one for me.

Another customer responded by saying, “They just always have everything you’re looking for!”

Towards the end of my excursion, I had a touching conversation with a man that inspired this entry.

I told him how much I loved Publix and he responded, “Me too!”.

He then went on to tell me about how he had moved to the United States from Venezuela 8 years ago.

“Walking through Publix is like walking through an amusement park for me.”

He then continued to describe to me how different the grocery shopping situation is in Venezuela in comparison to our shared experience in Publix.

I went on to research more about the phenomena.

In Venezuela, government supermarkets sell price-controlled food. With inflation levels at over approximately 100% every year, it’s no wonder why the government steps in to provide food to citizens at cheaper prices.

A journalist describes the checkout process at these government-run stores as similar to clearing customs in a hostile foreign country, where a clerk “scrutinizes” customers’ I.D.s and scans their fingerprints.

Not only is this process cumbersome, but it’s also extremely time-consuming, like an all-day kind of time-consuming.

For families that have children to care for or work to tend to, this can create impossible to manage circumstances.

Not only is the process time-consuming, but after spending time in lines to enter the grocery store, there is a chance that what shoppers came for is no longer in stock.

So, you spend all day at a grocery store, skipping work to then go home to your family empty-handed? No, thanks.

An article published by NPR referencing a report released by the United Nations in 2020 cited that nearly one in three Venezuelans were food insecure. This means that they were eating less than three meals a day or were unsure of where their next meal would come from.

Yes, that’s one in three human beings within a sovereign nation.

With all of that in perspective, I understand why this man shared in my enthusiasm for Publix and I hope that now you do too.

Happy Friday! — The Goofy Zealot