Nancy Prange is on a mission to fight hunger and help others. After joining forces with Campus Dining Services, the director of NIU Dietetic Internship program launched an innovative new food program, Huskie Harvest, to accomplish both.
“All Huskies have a right to a healthy meal,” Prange said. “Everyone deserves to eat – it is a basic need – and that is where my heart goes.”
Prange said when students experience food insecurity, it can have a significant impact on their college experience and can affect their academic success. She hopes Huskie Harvest will change that.
Emilee Williams GA and Nancy Prange bringing in first donation of packaged catering event left overs
Since launching the program on Feb. 1, Prange and a team of NIU dietetics interns have recovered more than 520 pounds of food from NIU catered events. For the Huskie Food Pantry, that equates to more than 560 frozen meals and side dishes for students to enjoy.
“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 may be the difference between passing a class or not passing, dropping out of school or earning a degree.”
For Prange, who earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) and doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from NIU in 2021, Huskie Harvest has been years in the making. What initially started as a public health class project grew into a campus-wide effort thanks to support from administration, a host of campus partners and student volunteers.
“So many people have been integral in the process – like Dan Koenen, executive director of Campus Dining and Abby VanWieren, director of Catering, and Jeanne Baxter of the Huskie Food Pantry,” Prange said. “And I really have to give credit to Clint- Michael Reneau, vice president of Student Affairs, who joined our discussions and said, ‘yes, let’s do this.’”
Huskie Harvest began with a simple premise: 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.
“NIU students should have access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods,” said Emily Korte, a dietetic intern and volunteer. “This program supplements needs and will allow NIU students to succeed. Furthermore, it is a sustainable program that combats food waste.”
Prange met with Koenen and VanWieren to review the catering schedule and identify buffets where leftover food may be available.
“Campus Dining leadership has been instrumental in the program,” Koenen said. “John Boswell, director of Retail Operations, Abby VanWieren, director of Catering, and Mitch Magnani, Catering Chef all support the program.”
Koenen said when working out the details of Huskie Harvest, the main challenge revolved around staffing.
“It takes a lot of work to package the meals, label them correctly with ingredients and allergens, and deliver them to the food pantry,” Koenen said.
Prange offered solutions, arriving with a team of student volunteers who pack, label and deliver the meals to the pantry which are frozen to increase shelf life.
“Nancy has been wonderful to work with and she is the person that got this off the ground,” Koenen said. “She is committed to the fight against hunger and helping our students that are experiencing food insecurity.”
Jeanne Isabel, chair, School of Health Studies, shared the sentiment.
“I am so proud of the efforts of Dr. Prange and her team,” Isabel said. “This extremely important project will enhance the well-being of our NIU Huskies!”
On the first day they packed food, they recouped about 120 pounds which became 104 meals and snacks for the pantry.
“When you look at a landfill, a larger producer of the greenhouse gasses is food waste,” Prange said. “By not sending hundreds 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.
“All of the food we package for the food pantry would otherwise be thrown away,” dietetic intern Stacia Tietje said. “Many times we can package full meals, such as a protein, carbohydrate and vegetable for students to be able to heat up.”
According to dietetic intern and volunteer Emilee Williams, pantry users have given the meals a thumbs-up.
“Huskie Harvest is great because all students have to do is pop them in the microwave and they have a ready-to-eat meal or side,” Williams said. “(The program) has increased food access for all students who use the pantry.”
In turn, Williams said she has learned lessons beyond nutrition and dietetics through Huskie Harvest.
“I have learned that it really only takes a few people’s commitment and dedication to provide a resource like this for students,” Williams said. “The catering department where we recover the food has been beyond helpful and none of this would be possible without them. I hope that others at NIU start to recognize the impact food insecurity has on students and start to take on a bigger role in providing food security resources on campus.”
Koenen and Prange agree, adding that they are discussing future Huskie Harvest expansion plans.
Learn more about the Huskie Food Pantry.
Source: NIU Today CHHS News
