Husky Harvest Food Pantry

Pop Up Food Pantry to be Held Nov 8th

Dining Services will be hosting a one day Husky Harvest pop-up food pantry on Wednesday, November 8th, in the Student Union ballroom (Rm 331) from 10am-1pm or until supplies run out.

The pop up pantry is open to anyone with a UConn ID.

A few details if you plan on coming to the pantry:

  • Have your UConn ID ready for the check-in table.
  • Bags will be available but in limited supply – please bring your own if you have some.
  • Lines may be long – thank you for your patience.

For details on the Storrs campus pantry that is open weekly please visit huskyharvest.uconn.edu.

Give A Flex Pass on Oct 25 to Support Students First Fund

Dining Services will be hosting our bi-annual Give-A-Meal on Wednesday, October 25th. All eight residential dining halls will be participating from 4-7:15pm. Over the years this program has supported various on- and off-campus organizations.

Students with a residential meal plan can donate one flex pass when they come to dinner on the 25th to help out their fellow huskies. All proceeds from the donated flex passes will go to support the Students First Fund, through the Dean of Students Office, which assists students during a time of need (i.e. books; clothing; food). More details about the Students First Fund can be found at https://dos.uconn.edu/.

If you don’t have a residential meal plan but want to help your fellow Huskies this semester, check out our donation drives in October and November to keep the shelves stocked at Husky Harvest food pantry.

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Husky Harvest Updates/Wish List

Husky Harvest logo

HOW YOU CAN ASSIST THE PANTRY

NOVEMBER 2024 DONATION DRIVE

Canned goods, tuna, peanut butter, soups, and canned vegetables. Home basics such as toilet paper, dish detergent, and clothes detergent. Toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. All food needs to be nonperishable.

Why are you collecting toiletries & home basics? Toiletries and home basics are frequently requested and these are items that we are unable to get from food banks/local organizations that supply the pantry.

DONATION DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

Please do not drop off at the pantry. Donation drive items can only be accepted at the following locations.

  • UConn Dining Commissary: 30 Gurleyville Rd, Storrs (M-F; 6am-4pm)
  • UConn Dining Main Office: Towers Residence Halls – Wade Building, 3384 Towers Loop Rd, Storrs
    (M-F; 8am-5pm) - a donation box is available in the lobby

    OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

    • Reusable Grocery Bags - The pantry is always in need of reusable grocery bags. Please consider donating new or gently used (stain-free) bags.
    • Monetary Donations - If you would like to support the Storrs Husky Harvest food pantry with a monetary donation, please visit the UConn Foundation  foundation.uconn.edu/fund/uconn-storrs-campus-food-insecurity-fund
    • Volunteers - At this time volunteers are not needed.
    • Run Your Own Donation Drive: Clubs, orgs, and offices on campus have run their own drive and donated to Husky Harvest. We ask that you only collect the needed supplies above. Please reach out to us via our online form if you have a large amount of donations that need to be picked up.

    ADDITIONAL PANTRY INFO/UPDATES

    FALL 2024 HOURS

    Open Tuesday & Thursdays from 11am-4pm

    Accessible via the UConn Blue Line - bus stop is across the street from the pantry

    A few designated parking spots are available for visitors to the pantry.

    Don't forget to bring your UConn ID. The pantry has a limited supply of bags. Please bring a reusable grocery bag with you. Thank you!



    If Husky Harvest hours do not work with your schedule the Storrs Congregational Church on campus has an Emergency Food Pantry. The Food Pantry will be open Sundays from 11 – 12:00, Mondays from 12 – 2 p.m.,  and Thursdays from 2:30  – 5:00 pm.  For questions, email: SCCfoodpantry@storrscongchurch.org | 2 North Eagleville Rd., Storrs Mansfield, CT 06268

    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

    UConn Resources

    Other Local Pantries

    Storrs Congregational Church on campus has an Emergency Food Pantry. Their pantry is open Sundays from 11 – 12:00, Mondays from 12 – 2 p.m.,  and Thursdays from 2:30  – 5:00 pm.  For questions, email: SCCfoodpantry@storrscongchurch.org | 2 North Eagleville Rd.

    Mansfield Mobile Food Pantry - 303 Maple Road |  Every other Thursday; 11:30am-Noon

    Covenant Soup Kitchen - Located in Willimantic

    Contact Us/Stay Up to Date

    Questions - please use our contact form at dining.uconn.edu/questions-and-comments

    Information on all the UConn food pantries can be found at huskyharvest.uconn.edu

    Husky Harvest (Storrs) Updates: Follow UConn Dining on Facebook, Instagram, X.

    Help promote Husky Harvest in your area of campus with this flyer: Fall 2024

    Paige Bueckers, Chegg announce support for Husky Harvest in Storrs

    By Kimberly Phillips

    All of UConn might have their eye on Paige Bueckers this season, but the campus community is in her heart, as she and partner Chegg Inc. announce their support for the Husky Harvest food pantry that has served hundreds of Storrs students and staff since opening this spring.

    “One thing we’ve learned in the last six months is that food insecurity doesn’t have boundaries,” says Michael White, executive director of UConn Dining Services. “We have students who are in crisis and are here for the short term. We have families that need formula and diapers and are here for the long term. Any partnership is invaluable to us because we need resources.”

    The assistance from Bueckers and Chegg, announced today during a press conference at the pantry in the Charter Oak Apartments Community Center, will allow Husky Harvest to supplement the items it already gets from Connecticut Foodshare, which has been providing food since its inception, White says.

    In the last six months, Husky Harvest Storrs has added Midwest Food Bank New England in Manchester, Big Y in Tolland, and Price Chopper in Storrs as benefactors that with Connecticut Foodshare provide most of the food and toiletries on the shelves, in the freezers, and inside refrigerators at the pantry.

    “Resources that come through the UConn Foundation’s Food Insecurity Fund or direct partnership for product are essential,” White says. “For Paige to step up and make this a priority is something I commend her for. She’s an incredibly busy student-athlete with a rigorous schedule. For her to pay attention to this issue and do so here at UConn is truly amazing.”

    Paige Bueckers
    Courtesy of Chegg

    In February 2022, Bueckers became Chegg’s first student-athlete brand ambassador, working to bring awareness to the problem of food insecurity among college students after a Chegg.org report showed 32% of college students are reporting food insecurity since the pandemic.

    At UConn, a 2019 survey determined 35% of the Storrs student body was going hungry just prior to the start of the pandemic, with the rate even higher at the branch campuses. That’s one reason UConn leaders sought to establish Husky Harvests at Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury, along with
    the one in Storrs.

    “I am so proud that we are partners with the University and helped to get this pantry up and running,” says Connecticut Foodshare President and CEO Jason Jakubowski ’99 (CLAS), ’01 MPA. “Hunger on college campuses is an issue in Connecticut and throughout the country. I am very proud that my alma mater has made the commitment to address this issue.”

    In December 2022, a pop-up food pantry at UConn’s Student Union provided $10,000 worth of food for more than 500 students thanks largely to a donation from the Undergraduate Student Government.

    Chegg, in March 2022, gave out 6,000 meals with partner Goodr during a free pop-up pantry in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the NCAA Final Four tournament.

    “We are honored to partner with Paige to help reduce food insecurity for students. Caring for the needs of students – inside and outside the classroom – is at the core of Chegg’s mission. Through our research, advocacy, and funding of local organizations, we remain committed to combatting food insecurity among college students,” Chegg CEO and President Dan Rosensweig says. “We applaud Paige’s efforts to impact her campus community and raise awareness of the need among college students. We are proud to partner with her on this important issue and wholeheartedly embrace and support her efforts highlighting the work of the Husky Harvest.”

    Filling the gaps while filling a need

    White says the top items students are looking for at Husky Harvest Storrs include microwaveable macaroni and cheese or rice dishes, cereal, frozen entrees, beef stew, peanut butter, snack bars, yogurt, pasta, marinara sauce, bread and rolls, sports drinks, and cooking oils.

    Recently though, he says suppliers were able to offer for free only things like COVID rapid tests, cocktail sauce, and hand sanitizer – a big difference between what’s available and what’s most needed. Also, what’s becoming a necessity is baby food and diapers, items that are rarely, if ever, found available for donation.

    This means White and his staff, who he credits with doing much of the work to run the pantry, have sourced food like baked goods and produce from places like Big Y and Price Chopper. Other things that are challenging to find include toiletries like shampoo and household items like laundry detergent.

    The Chegg donation will allow Husky Harvest Storrs to fill in the gaps, because what it’s doing is important. In March when the pantry opened after spring break, 195 households were served with 551 people in those homes. In April, 307 households and 340 people were helped. The pantry was open two days a week during these months.

    The number dropped after the spring semester ended and its hours shifted to one day a week, with 60 households and 147 people served in May. Over the summer, June saw 40 households and 166 people helped and July had 34 households and 138 people served.

    “When we first opened, we didn’t know if we’d need to be open in the summer, but we fed 138 people in July and that tells me we need to be,” White says. “We’ll continue to be open next summer with one day a week.”

    But before then, in fall 2023 and spring 2024, Husky Harvest Storrs is open Mondays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Charter Oak Apartments Community Center, 916 Tower Court Road. Anyone in need and with a UConn ID can visit.

    There also may be a pop-up pantry this academic year in the Student Union much like the one last December, White says, but the main point of distribution will be at Charter Oak in the space that once served as a convenience store.

    And, for now, only monetary donations are being accepted for Husky Harvest Storrs. Taking food donations from community members isn’t possible, White says, because doing so requires items to be tracked for recalls and other inventory work to be done – work that Dining Services isn’t set up to do.

    “There will be a point when we look to the community for additional support. Until we get there, we’re asking people to be patient and if they’re inclined to help to do so through the UConn Foundation,” White says.

    Contributions to the UConn Storrs Campus Food Insecurity Fund at the UConn Foundation can be made online. Visit UConn’s Husky Harvest website for details on how to make site-specific donations to pantries at the regional campuses.