North Central College students set to deliver free telehealth care to food pantry clients

North Central College students in Naperville are gaining real clinical experience by providing free telehealth nutrition and occupational therapy services to families who visit a local food pantry.

The program, funded by an Endeavor Health Community Investment Fund (CIF) Capacity Builder Award, pairs NCC's Nutrition Sciences and Occupational Therapy students with clients at West Suburban Community Pantry, which serves 1,000 families each week across DuPage and Will Counties. The grant is expanding NCC's technology and networking infrastructure so students can build telehealth skills while delivering pro bono care to pantry clients who might otherwise go without professional health guidance.

Endeavor Health announced the NCC partnership as part of $8.1 million in 2026 CIF awards distributed to nine organizations across the Chicago area.

What this means for NCC students

For students in NCC's accredited Nutrition Science program and its Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, which holds candidacy status from the national accrediting body ACOTE, the grant means supervised clinical contact with real patients before a traditional internship placement would begin. NCC offers more than 38 undergraduate and graduate healthcare programs from its Naperville campus.

What this means for pantry clients

West Suburban Community Pantry, located at 6809 Hobson Valley Drive in Woodridge, distributed 3.2 million pounds of food last year and served 130,000 individuals. One-third were children. Clients who visit for groceries can now access telehealth consultations on nutrition planning and occupational therapy needs at no cost.

Grant window open for Naperville nonprofits

Endeavor Health opened its 2027 CIF Capacity Builder Award application window on Monday, July 27, and will accept proposals through Friday, August 21. Awards range from $100,000 to $500,000 per year for up to two years. Eligible applicants are non-governmental 501(c)(3) organizations working in Endeavor Health's service area. The fund's five focus areas are access to healthcare, behavioral health, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and workforce development for careers in healthcare.

Since 2022, the CIF has invested more than $38.5 million in community organizations, supporting more than 745 jobs and benefiting more than 1.1 million lives, according to Endeavor Health.

Kristen Murtos, Endeavor Health's chief innovation and transformation officer, said in January when the 2026 awards were announced that the fund collaborates "with local organizations that people know and trust — helping them remove barriers to care, meet immediate needs and create long-term solutions that help individuals and families thrive."

Endeavor Health expects to award eight to 12 new Capacity Builder grants for 2027. Applications must be submitted online at endeavorhealth.org/cif.