5 Tips to Reduce food waste during Thanksgiving

5 minute read

Thanksgiving Diner

Use these 5 simple tips to reduce your food waste this Thanksgiving holiday. You’ll save money and these tips are super easy ways to be sustainable. 

  1. Do the math on how many guests are coming? The USDA suggests buying 1 pound of turkey per person, and if you want leftover turkey, figure 1.5 pounds per person. For sides, assume 3 – 4 per person and about 1/2 cup each. Also, making a list before you head to the grocery store reduces the chances of buying more than you need.

  2. Plan an entire meal with fewer ingredients. It’s eco-friendly to overlap ingredients across several of your dishes, since it’ll require less packaging and minimal leftover half-packages waiting to go bad – then tossed. An example could be the orange in the cranberry sauce, green beans and pie or sweet potatoes for a savory side dish and desert. 

  3. Save and freeze vegetable peelings and meat scraps to make hearty soups for later. Or use them to make something entirely new. Take leftover apple pie peels, toss with cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice, then bake in the oven for crisps.

  4. Know how to use and store leftovers. Perishable foods can be left at room temperature for a maximum of 2 hours and should be eaten within 4 days. Using clear glass stackable containers or old pasta sauce, soup, jam jars or mason jars is a great way of reducing use of plastic containers. Leftovers are more likely to be eaten if seen.

  5. Have guests bring storage containers and then label them with names and the date. This saves your hostess from wasting single-use plastic bags and saves you from having to make a meal the next day.

Happy Thanksgiving fam! We are grateful for you!

 
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/11/13/reduce-food-waste-thanksgiving-dinner/
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2020/11/17/tips-reduce-food-waste-thanksgiving
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/turkey-tips-buying-and-thawing-a-turkey