Deep below the day-to-day liveliness of the University of South Florida Student Services building, there exists a room dedicated to helping students in life-threatening situations. Nestled cozily next to The Oracle, this small subterranean haven provides food for those in dire need.
Jania Rhodes, a sophomore majoring in mass communications and minoring in women’s and gender studies, works for the Feed-A-Bull Food Pantry to help her fellow students.
Food for the pantry is sourced from local donors, including on-campus eateries and dining halls. Since her arrival to USF this school year, Rhodes’ work with the pantry has ensured meals would be available for people who suffer from food insecurity on campus.
“It’s a great way to get community service as well as work getting paid to do it,” Rhodes said. “I went online, I found the job, got to interview the first day of classes and actually started working the next day.”
Just as the students who can visit the pantry once a week are grateful for the ability to pick up much-needed food, Rhodes is just as grateful for the ability to volunteer, something she has not always been able to do in the past.
“I have always liked to help people through volunteering, and it was something that I didn’t do a lot at my last school because there weren’t many opportunities,” she said. “So, when I came here to USF and I saw how many opportunities there are, my biggest thing was getting more involved in my community, and especially on-campus, helping any way that I could.”
Rhodes is also using her experience with the food pantry and applying it to her USF Global Citizens Project. The project is an initiative designed by the university to prepare students for success in the increasingly interconnected world.
Although her work at the pantry helps with her project, Rhodes says the best part for her is seeing firsthand how people react to what the program provides.
“The most rewarding part is when you have students come in and they’re so excited,” she said. “I’ve had students come in and they’re like, ‘oh my goodness, I’m so happy this here, I’ve only eaten once this week.’”
Unfortunately, the pantry has also attracted the attention of students who chose to exploit it. This is a large part of why the program, since it was established in 2015, has sparsely advertised itself. Rhodes says this is something that deeply upsets her.
“Sometimes we have people who come here and take advantage of the service,” she said. “That bothers me, because you have people who don’t really need food because they just find it convenient for them, and they’ll come here and take more than they need.”
Operating every week from Monday to Thursday, the Feed-A-Bull Food Pantry does not typically host special events–other than the occasional food drive. However, Rhodes says it does promote education about nutrition and healthy eating.
“We usually have dietitian or nutrition interns in grad school set up little events to hold a cooking lesson with food that you could find in here that’s also healthy,” she said.
By Alexander Cuccio
