Bus to Publix waited and waited, no riders showed - six times - for inaugural food runs in Immokalee

By the time the Winn-Dixie — Immokalee's only grocery store — shut down, the shelves had been picked bare and the standard groceries for families were no longer there.

That was October 25 when Winn-Dixie opened one last day for Immokalee residents. It will one day be replaced with an Aldi. The rollouts from Winn-Dixie to Aldis are to be finalized in 2027.

When residents learned the town's only grocery store would not immediately be replaced, they panicked and turned to social media — specifically their County Commissioner Bill McDaniel.

He responded along with the Collier Community Foundation when it agreed to a 50-50 partnership to created a dedicated bus route to the next closest grocery store. That's a small Publix store located in Ave Maria. A bus ride there is between 15 and 20 min