According to its website, Food Recovery Network (FRN) is the “largest student movement fighting food waste and hunger in America.” Started in 2011 by the University of Maryland College Park students, FRN has recovered 3.2 million pounds of food waste, donated 2.6 million meals to those in need and prevented 6.1 million kilograms of CO2 emissions. There are 230 FRN chapters at U.S. universities and colleges, including Villanova University. 

Villanova’s FRN chapter is a relatively new student group, but in its first full year (2014-2015) it recovered more than 3,300 pounds of food. After the “Pit” is closed, student volunteers from Villanova’s FRN chapter gather four to six nights a week at Dougherty Hall to collect and re-package food that was not served and to donate it all to the local Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center (CHOC) in Norristown, PA. FRN students are also currently developing a campaign to reduce food waste on the University’s campus. FRN is looking to raise awareness on food waste problems in the U.S., to educate students on how to reduce their own personal food waste and to gain campus-wide recognition as a student group.