Having grown up in Florida in the 1960s and ‘70s, I have some personal connections to Publix Super Markets. I feel I should disclose the facts right here for the sake of journalistic integrity. 

There was just one Publix store in my hometown of Miramar back then. There are now at least three in Miramar, which has become a long slip of a suburb, with enclaves stretching across what used to be cow pastures, rock pits and snake-infested scrubland.

When I was in high school my mother worked in the Danish Bakery attached to that lone Publix. You could buy items across a counter from the main store, or just visit the bakery through a separate entrance and peruse the treats.

Back then Publix had a great reputation among Florida consumers, as it still does. The company’s long-running tagline is “where shopping is a pleasure.”  You can find blog sites where crusty Floridians reminisce about some of the architectural and design features of the older stores. 

The year I started college Publix opened a dairy plant in Lakeland, Fla., near Orlando.

Of course it wasn’t until years later, upon joining the Dairy Foods staff, that I learned that Publix’s reputation extended beyond the Sunshine State, and into the realm of the dairy processing industry.

Publix has long been considered one of the most quality-minded grocery chains in the United States. Publix Dairy Manufacturing enjoys the same sort of respect among its peers, thanks to the quality of its dairy products, and the involvement of its leaders in industry organizations like the International Dairy Foods Assn.

Over the years Dairy Foods has recognized many outstanding and unique dairy companies as Processor of the Year, and certainly Publix Dairy Manufacturing fits that description well, so congratulations to our 2008 recipient.  

Miramar, by the way, is about midway between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. That puts it at just about an hour from the beginning of the Florida Keys and the famous overseas highway that hops from island to island for about 100 miles.  I made that drive a few times in my younger days.  Yes, there is a Publix store in Key Largo that I’ve been to. There is also one at the midway point in Marathon, and one in Key West, near the nation’s southern-most point.

Publix dairy has some interesting logistics to work with. It must be the only captive dairy that sends products to a store situated at the end of a seven-mile bridge, and it serves nearly 1,000 stores from Key West to South Carolina, and points between. 

So next time you are in Florida, stop at a Publix and get some Key Lime Pie Yogurt. You can enjoy the flavor of Florida’s official dessert with a product from one of the best dairy processors under the sun.