Florida shoppers will no longer be able to buy popular hurricane-themed cakes from Publix, as the company wants to avoid downplaying natural disasters.
An official with the supermarket chain told WTSP Monday about the decision to no longer make the sweet desserts:
Our associates make every effort to support our customers during weather events. Oftentimes, this includes finding ways to delight them with their favorite Publix items as they prepare for uncertainty. For these requests in particular, it is our company policy to not produce bakery cakes that would make light of a natural disaster.
The weather-themed cakes debuted several years ago, and some were designed with the phrases “Go Away” and “Leave Florida Alone” on them.
Publix has announced they will no longer be making hurricane cakes, a Florida pre-hurricane stock up item, over sensitivity concerns. https://t.co/BuoAIWq4m7
— Dr. Holly A. Bell ☕️ (@HollyBell8) August 22, 2023
One image shows a cookie cake with icing in the shape of Florida as a hurricane approaches from the east.
“Wait @Publix is no longer going to make hurricane cakes???? This is outrageous!!!!!” the caption reads:
Wait @Publix is no longer going to make hurricane cakes???? This is outrageous!!!!! pic.twitter.com/B35cMOFauJ
— PhotographicFloridian (@JackLinFLL) August 18, 2023
Social media users voiced their displeasure about the decision, and one person wrote, “Party poopers.”
In a post on August 30, 2019, a social media user named Kate Wagner shared her story of going to Publix and trying to find a Dorian Hurricane cookie cake.
The baker told her the store had received complaints about such cakes, adding, “They had been pulled from all bakery displays.”
However, the baker apparently then retrieved one of the cakes for her from the back of the store:
Dear General Public, I entered Publix today braving the hoards for (2) things….a prescription & a Dorian Hurricane…
Posted by Kate Wagner on Friday, August 30, 2019
“Please don’t mess with people’s cookie cakes especially under imminent threat of a natural disaster. If anyone out there wants a Dorian Hurricane Cookie cake from the Publix bakery, the dealer is behind the counter,” Wagner wrote.
When hurricane season ended on November 30, 2022, millions of Americans were able to breathe a sigh of relief after enduring uncertainty when it came to such weather systems hitting their areas, Breitbart News reported at the time:
The conclusion of hurricane season follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) dealing with an active late season in the Sunshine State, which put his administration to the test right before the midterm elections as he faced off against Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL):
Hurricane Ian, a strong Category 4 storm, battered the state’s west coast, severely damaging infrastructure and knocking out power for millions of Floridians. Yet, Florida had tens of thousands of linemen ready, and power was restored to 99 percent, other than some of the LCEC [Lee County Electric Cooperative] pockets, in mere days.
Per the WTSP article, the peak of hurricane season is right around the corner, and officials have already tracked several tropical storms.
