For the town of Ave Maria Florida the nearest Publix (or any grocery store?) has been about 25 miles away…but not anymore. This week the grocery chain opened its first – very small – store in the growing town. But a few items will be missing at this particular Publix. Namely, condoms…and pet furniture.

Says Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten:

“It was a business decision based on the limited space we have and the product offerings our customers will want.”

This business decision, at least as far as the condoms are concerned, didn’t sit well with Planned Parenthood of Collier County who, in a protest against the opening of the store in Ave Maria, had volunteers handing out free condoms to customers at two Publix stores in Naples. To quote a friend of mine and Ave Maria graduate, Dave Englestad (my emphasis):

Planned Parenthood apparently thinks that it is a Constitutional right that every Publix grocery store must sell condoms, even if said store is so small it doesn’t even have a pharmacy. But they’ll show Publix of Ave Maria just how enraged they are and how much time they have on their hands…by giving away free condoms in front of 2 other Publix stores which do sell them.

Ya, that’ll show em! I wonder what those Publix stores thought about PP trampling on their condom sales… I mean with this level of outrage one would think that condoms were in pretty high demand @ Publix. But if Leigh Carney’s experience is typical of most Publix stores, I’d say not:

I used to work at Publix and I can count the number of times condoms went through my register on one hand, not gonna lie

And anyway, why buy condoms from Publix when PP gives them away for free at their front counter? According to this story, an estimated 74,000 are given away at the Naples clinic each year.

Previous Posts:
NFP vs. Contraception
Countering PP’s Promotion of Promiscuity

Bonus pic: When I was in South Florida earlier this year I did a drive through of Ave Town on my way back to Plantation from Naples. I call this “Sunset Over the Ave Swamp”