Somerset, N.J. - The Saint Francis Student-Athlete Advisory Committee won the NEC Canned Food Drive, gathering an a record- high 3,849 goods and dethroning two-time defending Canned Food Drive champion Mount St. Mary's in the process. 

Accounting for a 31.5 percent increase over the previous year's record total, the fourth annual NEC SAAC Canned Food Drive competition resulted in the collection of 14,310 non-perishable food items.

The Mount finished in second place after donating 3,432 food items (the second-highest one-year single-school total in the history of the canned food competition). 

Saint Francis, which was the runner-up last year, also won the inaugural NEC SAAC Canned Food Drive in 2015.

"Congratulations to all 10 of our participating members, especially Saint Francis U and Mount St. Mary's," said NEC SAAC adviser Lisa Archbald. "The two schools alone have accounted for the collection of more than 12,000 non-perishable goods over the past two years."

SAAC leaders at each of the league's 10 core member institutions organized collection efforts on their respective campuses prior to the holiday season and selected local charities as the recipients of the collected items.

Saint Francis U linked up with the Dorothy Day Outreach Center (Loretto, PA) for the fourth year in a row. The men's volleyball team was particularly effective in the canned food drive efforts, collecting over 1,000 canned goods as a team.

"We are trilled to claim this title from the Northeast Conference!" Community outreach is one of the primary foundations of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee," said Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services Sara Ross. "We task our committee members and all our student-athletes to find ways to impact the greater SFU community. This donation drive hits especially close to home as we are able to make all the donations directly to the Dorothy Day Outreach Center here on campus. We commend all the Northeast Conference schools on their great efforts during this donation drive. Though we spend all year competing against each other, it is great to see all the schools come together to make an impact!"

The canned food drive competition is only one of the charitable efforts organized annually by the NEC SAAC. The student-athlete run organization is gearing up for its annual Money Wars Fundraiser, which will benefit the Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) based in New Oxford, PA.