Elk Grove Village's Pritscher made herself an expert on both catering and caring

ELK GROVE VILLAGE – As co-founder and chief communications officer for her company NuphorIQ, as well as the founder and CEO of her second company, That’s Caring, Jamie Pritscher can honestly say she never saw her success coming.

“Growing up, I changed my mind a lot, however, one aspiration I always had was to be an entrepreneur," Pritscher said. "I practically grew up surrounded by them, uncles, grandfathers, my own father, all of them entrepreneurs. So I knew it would be hard work, obviously I saw firsthand, but I figured hey, if they can do it, I could do it, so I did it."

In 2006, Pritscher started working for Tasty Catering Company, a family-owned company filled with serial entrepreneur owners themselves. Having enjoyed her time there and all that she learned, it reconfirmed her dream of entrepreneurship, thus causing Pritscher to start two companies with the help, mentorship and partnership of those at Tasty Catering.

NuphorIQ served as the perfect consolidation of all Pritscher’s catering knowledge and marketing strategies. In a nutshell, the company serves as the marketing and business development department for small catering and event planning companies.

“In the past few years, everyone has become a caterer of sorts," Pritscher said. "Restaurants, national chains, even food trucks, now create a very competitive market for our clients, who are typically one-location stops. But while everyone has the same goal, to produce great food, it’s their stories and passions that set them apart, and that’s what we highlight, what we bring to the fold."

2008 was the year That’s Caring began. What stemmed from a “going green” graduate school marketing project, while studying at Roosevelt University, has grown to fruition as a corporate gift division, gifting high end gift boxes of cookies, confections, wine and cheeses—with each purchase contributing revenue to feed a hungry child in the United States.

“No one can deny that a child deserves to be well fed and not worry where their next meal is going to come from every night," Pritscher said. "It was this realization that made us want to contribute. Not only by funding programs but also by educating people about food insecurity.

Every gift selected from and sent through That’s Caring equals supplies for weekend meals that go directly to children in need in the U.S.

Since 2013, when That’s Caring was launched, Pritscher and her company have donated more than 3,639 weekend bags and 21,834 meals to children and their families.

“Each weekend bag contains enough for six meals,” Pritscher said.

These weekend bags have been distributed to Elk Grove Junior high, as Pritscher learned there was a staggering number of hungry children right in the company’s backyard, as well as food banks that have joined up with weekend bag programs.