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Fighting against hunger.

Helping Huskies who are experiencing food insecurity.

Reducing food waste to improve the environment.

Nancy Prange and a team of campus partners are tackling them all through Huskie Harvest, an innovative food program that is changing lives, one meal at a time.

“Every Huskie has a right to nutritious food,” said Prange, clinical assistant professor and director of Graduate Studies in Nutrition and Dietetics at NIU. “Adequate nutrition is essential for students to perform well academically; it’s crucial for overall health, including mental health.”

For Prange, who earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) and doctoral degree in educational psychology from NIU in 2021, the dream for Huskie Harvest started as a public health class project.

(L-R) Emily Korte, Nancy Prange, Emilee Williams and Devin Ebeling-Hammond

The premise is simple: Catered events on campus typically have quality food that is left over. The food can be recovered—and offered to students experiencing food insecurity— rather than discarded and ending up in a landfill.

She partnered with Campus Dining, Student Affairs, Huskie Food Pantry and the College of Health and Human Sciences, and with the support of university administration, Huskie Harvest was born.

“Nancy has been wonderful to work with and she is the person that got this off the ground,” said Dan Koenen, executive director for Campus Dining Services. “She is committed to the fight against hunger and helping our students that are experiencing food insecurity.”

Koenen said when working out the details of Huskie Harvest, the main challenge revolved around staffing. That didn’t deter Prange, who offered solutions and a team of student volunteers who pack, label and freeze individual servings to increase shelf life.

“If we can help our students have access to quality, healthy food, that is one less choice they have to make with their finances,” Prange said. “It improves retention rates as students no longer need to decide between paying for tuition and books versus food.”

Fast forward to more than a year later, Huskie Harvest has recovered more than 6,000 pounds of food from NIU catered events, equaling more than 6,600 meals and side dishes donated for students to enjoy.

“At this pace, we are on target to recover almost two tons of food in the first year,” Prange said. “But this goes beyond providing meals. It signifies a commitment to creating a campus environment where every Huskie feels valued, supported and has an equal opportunity to succeed.”

NIU Director of Graduate Studies in Nutrition and Dietetics Nancy Prange helps pack food for Huskie Harvest.

Students can find Huskie Harvest meals at the Huskie Food Pantry, as part of the Pick Museum of Anthropology year-long Good Food exhibit, and in the campus commuter lounge. During the spring semester, Prange plans to expand the efforts to include delivering food across campus to individual college student lounges that have freezer space.

“I am so proud of the efforts of Dr. Prange and her team,” said Jeanne Isabel, chair of NIU School of Health Studies. “This extremely important project will enhance the well-being of our NIU Huskies!”

And it is.

“It has helped me so much financially,” said student Yudishtir Sheth. “Groceries are starting to get quite expensive, and the Huskie Harvest is packed with great nutritious food.”

Sheth said he appreciates the variety, convenience and of course, the fact that it’s delicious.

“I just had the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, bread and green beans,” Sheth said. “It’s a definite favorite, and it was so yummy. Moreover, it’s convenient, as all I have to do is microwave it, and voila, a meal is ready for me to eat.”

Huskie Harvest helps students while also helping the environment.

“When you look at a landfill, a large producer of the greenhouse gas is food waste,” Prange said. “By not sending thousands of pounds of food that we recover to a landfill, we are helping reduce our campus’ carbon footprint.”

It’s a win-win for Huskies and the earth, but there’s still work to be done. Prange envisions securing freezers around campus that are dedicated to Huskie Harvest meals, and marketing to ensure students are aware of where they can get a meal.

“There is no budget for this program and all resources—both time and supplies—are donated,” Prange said. “To grow the program and truly make a dent in campus food insecurity, financial resources are needed.”

Make your donation to the Huskie Harvest at www.niufoundation.org/give to support healthy Huskies and reduce food waste.