Wednesday, May 29, 2024 Husker Pantry accepts homegrown vegetables, fruits from backyard gardens

by Student Affairs

At the peak of summer when gardens are overflowing with freshly grown vegetables and fruits, Husker Pantry is standing ready to accept the surplus items from your harvest.

All food donations directly benefit UNL students.

Fresh items frequently requested by students include tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, zucchini, summer squash, beans, peppers, potatoes, and corn.

Due to the perishable nature of fresh produce, Kenji Madison, director of Big Red Resilience and Well-being, offers these tips for donating fresh produce items to the pantry:

1. Email pantry@unl.edu at least 24 hours in advance to coordinate a drop-off day (available weekdays between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). In your message, indicate the approximate drop-off day and time, plus the varieties you will bring.
2. Keep the produce dirty and dry. It’s best if you don’t wash the items. Just bring them in same condition as harvested.
3. Produce items must be in their original raw/unprocessed form. The pantry is unable to accept “homemade” items that have been peeled, frozen, canned, jarred or otherwise preserved in a home kitchen.
4. Deliver fresh produce items to the pantry's City Campus location, found at University Health Center, Room 123 (550 N 19th St). During the summer, the East Campus pantry location and the various donation bins around campus are not checked on a daily basis.

Read further details about fresh produce donations on the pantry's website.

Don't have a backyard garden? Husker Pantry accepts fruits and veggies purchased from grocery stores and farmers markets, too. Follow the same instructions listed previously.

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