University of Maryland student Ben Simon and his friends couldn't stand to see good food thrown out on their campus."We basically noticed that some of the extra food from the dining hall was going to waste at the end of the day.And we met with the dining services and asked them whether it would be okay if instead of throwing out the food we would donate it.And they were on board," he said. So 18 months ago,the students began what they call the Food Recovery Network.Each night,volunteers would show up at a campus dining hall to pick up leftovers and deliver them to area shelters and food banks.So far,they have donated more than 23 000 kilos of food that would otherwise have been thrown out. Nationwide,$165 billion worth of food is wasted each year,according to the National Resources Defense Council.Spokesman Bob Keefe says that is about 40% of the country's entire food production."If we can reduce our waste in this country by 15%,we can feed 25 million hungry Americans.That is a huge benefit.That is what programs like this Food Recovery Network are doing," he said. Christian Life Center is one of the beneficiaries   of the students' efforts.Ben Slye,the senior pastor  ,said,"It has been just amazing to see these students take their own time,their own vehicles and own gas money and be able to make an effort like this.Each week we are able with this food probably to feed over hundred people." The University of Maryland's Food Recovery Network now has 200 volunteers and the program has expanded to 18 schools across the country."I want to grow 18 chapters to a thousand chapters within five years.And once we get to the Food Recovery Nation being at every college campus in America,we want to expand to restaurants and farms." said Simon. The volunteers are committed to making that happen. The dining services in University of Maryland  _  .
threw out good food on the campus supported the volunteers' job enjoyed the talk with the students donated their leftovers to the poor