What is Food Recovery Network?

​

The Food Recovery Network (FRN) is the largest network of students fighting food waste and hunger in the United States. College students across the nation repackage leftover food from university diners and redistribute it to partnering homeless shelters, food pantries, and other local community outreach sites. As part of the Covington community, we recover food from the Oxford Dining Hall and donate to partners in the Covington area, including the Covington First United Methodist Church Food ministry.

 

Why is our initiative important? 

Hundreds of pounds of food are thrown away on a daily basis at Oxford College's dining hall. Meanwhile, 1 in 8 people in the surrounding Covington community (over 15,000 people) struggle with food insecurity. Although food may not seem scarce here at Oxford College, Newton County is actually encompassed in a large food desert, meaning that a large proportion of residents have limited access to healthy and nutritious foods. Families without transportation to grocery stores often turn to the convenience and affordability of gas stations and fast-food chains for meals, resulting in a poor diet that can lead to consequences such as diabetes and obesity. The FRN works to make food more accessible for these groups of people by recovering nutritious food and distributing it to the community.