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Council approves $358,735 USDA grant partnership to pilot campus composting with USF St. Pete
Summary
Council authorized acceptance of a $358,735 USDA NIFA grant to support a food‑waste composting initiative at the University of South Florida St. Pete campus; the program expects to compost 2,100–2,700 pounds weekly and hire one staff member to run the operation.
The City Council approved a resolution authorizing the city to act as pass‑through for a $358,735 USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant to support a food‑waste composting pilot at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.
Maven Rogers, Director of the Office of Sustainability and Resilience, said the university will own and operate the composting equipment; students will run much of the operation and the campus plans to hire one staff member to oversee the program. Rogers said the pilot aims to process roughly 2,100 to 2,700 pounds of food waste weekly, convert it into compost for campus use and explore local sales and fee‑for‑service food‑waste pickups as revenue streams.
Rogers told council the city is a pass‑through administrator while USF St. Pete is the program owner and operator. Council members praised the partnership and asked about long‑term sustainability; staff said the university will test whether the operation can be financially self‑sustaining by charging for pickups and selling compost, and the city will not carry operational responsibility beyond the grant pass‑through and oversight obligations.
The resolution passed unanimously. Staff said operations would ramp up later in the grant period and that partners plan to involve local restaurants and student workforce development opportunities.
