Jan. 16, 2025
By Molly Urnek

Two out of five students at USF are food insecure, unsure where their next meal will come from. Founded in 2015, Feed-A-Bull strives to ensure no USF student goes hungry.

Thanks to a recent $100,000 donation from The Mosaic Company, Feed-A-Bull will be able to expand the pantry’s main facility on USF’s Tampa campus. The updated space, which will bear Mosaic’s name, will have the capacity to feed more students and offer refrigerated foods — an uncommon commodity in many pantries.

“Who can learn if they’re hungry? Who can achieve when they have an empty stomach? You’ve got to fill your stomach to grow your mind,” said Jackie Barron, public affairs manager for Mosaic.

Mosaic is helping the world grow the food it needs, as the leading global integrated producer of concentrated phosphate and potash. With this donation, the organization is ensuring more students have access to nutritious food. 

“For various reasons, there are students who don’t have the resources other students have. Through this donation, we can provide an opportunity to those students,” said Chris Johnson, community investment lead for Mosaic. “We ultimately hope to see that those students are successful.”  

Last fall, around 250 USF students utilized the pantry’s resources each week, according to Katie Webster, who is a registered dietitian and the director of Feed-A-Bull. Mosaic’s donation will allow her team to support more students and install refrigerators to offer items never supplied before, including dairy products, eggs and meat.

“With this generous gift from Mosaic, we will physically expand our space allowing us to better serve our students in need,” said Webster. “The larger space will accommodate more student visits daily while also offering increased food storage and an area for refrigerated space.” 

Feed-A-Bull provides groceries, nutrition education and resources to students in need on all campuses. Students are able to order online and pick up food from lockers located in the Marshall Student Center.

As the space grows, the pantry welcomes donations to help fill the new shelves. Food donations can be made in person at the Student Services building, 12220 USF Mango Drive, in SVC 0002, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (except university holidays). In addition, philanthropic donations can be made at the link below.