TAMPA, Fla. — There are more than seven million people in the Southeastern United States who are food insecure.

That number, courtesy of Publix Super Markets, is part of a trend that has only gotten worse since the pandemic.

At Feeding Tampa Bay, CEO Thomas Mantz says the food bank is now serving more families than it ever has in its history.

“Most folks would think the pandemic was the worst for families we serve,” Mantz said. "It isn’t. As it has turned out, now is.”

Inflation has wreaked havoc on families’ budgets, causing some to cut back on other expenses to afford food.

Other families with no financial wiggle room are now searching out nonprofits and food banks for help to keep food on the table.

Hannah Herring, Publix’s media relations manager, says as the super market continues to make perishable food donations to dozens of food banks across the Southeast, the struggle is becoming worse for some families.

Publix has donated $46 million to nonprofits in the past decade, as well as millions of dollars worth of perishable items that would go bad otherwise.

Now it is hosting its first forum on Thursday in Lakeland called the Hunger Summit.

It is bringing together U.S. representatives, around three dozen food bank organizations, the USDA, Publix experts and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.

Herring says the purpose of the summit is to “have open dialogue to share best practices and to talk about how we can all work together to help hunger in our community, and help put food on the table of our neighbors in need.”

As the Hunger Summit gets underway, Publix on Thursday is also launching its Feeding More Together campaign.

It’s an invitation to customers to donate at store check-outs.

To learn more about Publix community initiatives or how to help those in need, visit here.