Thirty-four colleges and universities are feeding the hungry in their communities as part of the Food Recovery Network, according to the USA Today.

Schools in the program have collectively donated more than 220,000 pounds of food since Sept. 2011 during a time where $165 billion of food is thrown out each year, according to a 2012 report from the Natural Resources Defense Council, nonprofit environmental organization. Forty percent of food goes uneaten.

According to the study from the Waste and Resources Action Program (Wrap), British households are throwing away 4.2 million tons of food and drink a year, the equivalent of six meals every week.

Wai Hon Chan, president of the chapter at Rochester Institute of Technology, said the community has grown to 30 members. His group has donated 15,000 pounds of food. Chan said his plan is to expand to neighboring universities.

"It's a dream for us to have a facility serving strictly over production of food from restaurants, college dining halls and retails," said Chan.

Denison University's Homelessness and Hunger committee has been donating food from their campus halls for about three years. The University of Michigan's chapter won $1,074 at Ann Arbor SOUP, an event offering grants for projects in Ann Arbor.

David Spinks, 2009 graduate of SUNY Geneseo, started an online cooking school for community members of the Feast. The startup is now exchanging ideas for what to cook for the holiday weekend.

Feast said they will be teaching members how to use ingredients in different ways, in order to keep them from going to waste. The former student believes if people could learn to cook their food, waste would decrease because everyone would know the correct portions to use.

"For a lot of our students it'll be the first time they cook for their families on Thanksgiving with their new kitchen skills, so it's an exciting time for them," said Spinks.