Immokalee left a food desert after Winn-Dixie closure

With the closure in late October of Immokalee’s only full-service grocery store, Winn-Dixie, residents are struggling to purchase their daily needs. 

Immokalee farms and small businesses produce food for many, yet residents are struggling to feed their own families in Collier County’s lowest-income area. There’s no word on when the Aldi will reopen in the Winn-Dixie space on Lake Trafford Road, so families have to either travel outside Immokalee or go without essentials. 

“Our Winn-Dixie is gone,” Diane Rios Martinez said. “We have those small mom-and-pop shops that don’t carry stuff that we need, essential stuff.” 

She referred to local options, such as Dollar Mart, Estates Dollar Stores and El Ahorro Dollar Store, and major chains Family Dollar and Dollar General. 

Many don’t have automotive transportation and get around by walking or biking. Collier County Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr. arranged a county partnership with Collier Community Foundation to provide a free Collier Area Transit bus service to a Publix store, but due to low ridership, the pilot program was discontinued last month. 

“Do you really picture me getting on a CAT bus with four kids to go to Naples, to go there … a 45-minute route and buy a week’s worth of groceries?” Maria Salinas asked. “That’s not going to happen … We need something bigger, better — and soon.” 

With immigration raids occurring more frequently in the area — many that are targeting buses transporting immigrants to work — some expressed fears that if they boarded the CAT bus, they’d be taken to “Alligator Alcatraz,” where they’d be held and deported. 

As a result, many families are spending more shopping at small stores, ordering online or visiting nearby Ave Maria or LaBelle. Seniors are hit the hardest and many contend Immokalee, the county’s lowest income area, is often forgotten. U.S. Census data show its per-capita income is about $18,694, with roughly 24.9% of residents living below the poverty line. 

Although Aldi is expected to open in several months, there’s no confirmed timeline. Last February, private investors acquired Southeastern Grocers and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets. Aldi began converting about 220 stores, a process expected to conclude in 2027.  

Still, residents are concerned Aldi isn’t a solution because, unlike Winn-Dixie, it doesn’t accept Women, Infants and Children benefits, as WIC requires specific name-brand formulas Aldi doesn’t stock. However, Aldi will accept SNAP (food stamps) and the EBT debit card. 

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers said Immokalee now meets the federal definition of a food desert: an area where it’s difficult or impossible to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. The coalition, which operates a small co-op grocery store out of its offices, quickly responded by expanding its co-op’s offerings and lowering prices until Aldi opens. Donations of $50 to $100 ensure one to three farmworker families have access to affordable groceries each week.

WINK News contributed to this report.