MISSION

Food Recovery Network (FRN) unites 8,000+ college students, food suppliers, farmers, and local businesses across the U.S. in the fight against climate change and hunger by recovering surplus food from across the supply chain and donating it to local nonprofit organizations that feed people experiencing hunger.

HISTORY

Founded in 2011 at the University of Maryland in College Park, FRN’s innovative model was created by a group of college students who witnessed perfectly good food being thrown away every day at their campus dining halls, destined for landfills, while community members went hungry.

FRN leverages the existing infrastructure of colleges, universities, farms, and food businesses to provide leaders at these institutions with the technical support, tools, and training they need to redirect surplus food that would otherwise be wasted to local nonprofits that feed community members experiencing hunger.

Through implementing our data-driven methodology, FRN10X, we seek to grow our programs in areas with the most need for food access and the greatest opportunity for food recovery. When replicated in these key areas, our model results in less food waste, less hunger, and more human and financial resources directed into communities in need.