Last Updated May 25, 2018 3:35 PM EDT

Survivors of this year's mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school are staging a "die-in" at some Publix stores in the state to protest the supermarket chain's financial support for a pro-gun rights candidate for governor.

The lead organizer of the demonstration, which is set to take place Friday afternoon, is , a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were shot to death and 17 others were injured in a Feb. 14 rampage by a former student.

Over Twitter, Hogg said some local residents will lie down for 12 minutes at two local Publix stores. He also encouraged similar protests at the supermarket chain's other locations. Hogg said in a video posted to his feed that more students have been killed in school this year than U.S. soldiers serving abroad.

Publix has faced public backlash for for governor. Hogg and other activists called for a boycott of the regional chain after the Tampa Bay Times reported that Publix had given $670,000 during the last three years to Adam Putnam, a Republican who is currently the state's agricultural commissioner.

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 25, 2018

Publix, which is based in Lakeland, Florida, and is the state's largest private employer, operates 1,172 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Roughly 800 of those locations are in Florida.

.@Publix is a #NRASellOut
In Parkland we will have a die in the Friday (the 25th) before memorial day weekend. Starting at 4pm for 12 min inside our 2 Publix stores. Just go an lie down starting at 4. Feel free to die in with us at as many other @Publix as possible.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 23, 2018

Since the shooting in Parkland, Putnam has drawn the ire of gun-control advocates by opposing the Florida's new restrictions on gun purchases, as well as by describing himself as a "proud NRA sellout."

Publix initially issued a statement saying it supported "bi-partisan, business-friendly candidates," then took to social media to state it has not provided financial support to the NRA.

Publix earlier in the week suggested future political donations might be handled differently, and on Friday said in an emailed statement that it had decided to "suspend corporate-funded political contributions as we reevaluate our giving processes."

"We regret that our contributions have led to a divide in our community," the supermarket said. "We did not intend to put our associates and the customers they serve in the middle of a political debate."