Publix is donating fresh produce and milk to Feeding South Florida, the region’s largest food bank. The Florida supermarket giant bought the items from farmers, some of whom found themselves with too much product and not enough revenue after restaurant demand dwindled. More families facing unemployment in the coronavirus economic fallout caused Feeding America to revise its projection of “food-insecure children” to 18 million, surpassing the 17.2 million the USDA reported in 2009 after the economic crash.

Walmart’s new CMO, Target veteran William White, will report not to Walmart’s CEO but to the chief customer officer, Janey Whiteside. This is seen as an unusual arrangement. The CMO title has been vacant since Barbara Messing left in August 2019.  

Taco Bell is turning its SoCal headquarters into a giant drive-thru for large essential vehicles that cannot fit through a regular drive-thru lane. The makeshift drive-thru will be serving large vehicles April 24 and May 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The offer is open to essential workers who drive large vehicles such as truckers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police and media in news vans.

Walmart has hired William White, a senior vice president of marketing at Target, as its new CMO effective May 11, according to a company memo sent on Thursday morning. White joined Target in 2013. Prior to that, he held various roles at Coca-Cola. The position at Walmart has been vacant for months, since former CMO Barbara Messing announced her departure.

American Airlines is launching its first brand-focused creative in four years with a social campaign themed “You Are Why We Fly” from CPB. The decision to return to brand marketing in a time of crisis was made to demonstrate the full breadth of AA’s work, the brand’s vice-president of marketing, Janelle Anderson, told The Drum. “With all the change and uncertainty happening now, we wanted to reassure our customers that we’re focused on them and the reasons why they fly,” she said. “We also wanted to recognize the important work our team members are doing. They come to work to …

In many states, especially those that have legalized medical marijuana, cannabis facilities are considered essential services and are allowed to stay open. “Mainstream acceptance of the cannabis and hemp industry is bigger than ever, given the rising need for patient access,” according to Complex. “This attention is crucial, as companies are still fighting stigmas associated with weed culture. … Positive brand perception to non-cannabis users in this country is extremely vital right now.”

Bud Light has a promotion inviting fans to #BooTheCommish via tweets, prior to the NFL Draft on Thursday night. Booing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell  is a draft day tradition with fans. For every fans who tweets #BooTheCommish, Bud LIght will donate $1 (up to $500,000) to the league's Draft-A-Thon promotion to aid coronarvirus relief efforts. The draft this year won't have an audience because of the pandemic, so the boo-birds will be imaginary this time. 

From dog food to sneakers to skincare to groceries, more than 30 brands are supporting coronavirus relief efforts in various ways. “As we continue weathering the storm that is the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a lot of brands stepping up to donate and provide aid to the communities who need it the most,” according to Fast Company. The CEO  of one of the brands, Thrive Market, announced Tuesday he is donating his salary to relief efforts. 

Neiman Marcus was already struggling under the burden of a heavy debt load before it closed its stores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it has defaulted on large interest payments on bonds. Neiman’s has a five-day grace period on $72.9 million in interest payment due on bonds that mature in 2024. J.C. Penney also skipped a debt payment and an is entering into a 30-day grace period “in order to evaluate certain strategic alternatives, none of which have been implemented at this time."

Consumers appear to have little patience for brands that even attempt to benefit from the pandemic or take it as an opportunity to sidestep “brand values” they once held up for all to see. “The clearest example may be Everlane and the blowback received after it unceremoniously fired just under 300 workers, nearly its entire retail and back-end workforce,” according to WWD.