BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Mosaic Company announced a multi-year pledge to donate to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to fight hunger in St. James Parish schools.

St. James Parish hosts a backpack program, which allows students to have additional food when they are not at school. According to a release, backpacks are filled with food items and given to elementary students who are enrolled in the program. The program serves about 750 students per month throughout the school year.

The Mosaic Company pledges to donate $200,000 to the program, which will increase the resources that will be available to students.

“This tremendous financial commitment from Mosaic is an investment for school-age children in our St. James Parish community who often go to bed and to school hungry,” said Mike Manning, president and CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. “We know children struggle physically and mentally when they are not properly nourished. This commitment allows us to reach more children who are missing meals and may be struggling in school as a result. We are truly grateful for Mosaic’s financial investment in these critical services for our community.”

Studies show St. James Parish has a food insecurity rate of 23.5%, which equate to about 1 in 4 children in the parish being food insecure.

“Mosaic is proud to collaborate with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and St. James Parish Public Schools on this key initiative, said Sarah Fedorchuk, Mosaic’s vice president for Government and Public Affairs. “Zero hunger is a key focus of ours and we want to help ensure all students in St. James Parish have the nourishment they need to be ready to learn.”