Thanksgiving is traditionally seen as a day to gather with loved ones and express gratitude for our abundance of blessings.
With all this abundance comes great responsibility though, and sometimes we venture into the realm of over-abundance.
An estimated 40% of American food goes to waste every year. And as you can probably imagine, Thanksgiving celebrations can quickly turn into a major contributor to that statistic.
This year, let’s see if we can reduce our Thanksgiving food waste by practicing these three simple techniques:
Coordinate recipes
Talk to your friends and family ahead of time and make sure no one is bringing duplicate dishes. (Three green bean casseroles is probably two too many.)
You may even ask some folks to consider taking a break from contributing to the meal this year. Instead, practice a rotation system so that everyone knows when it’s their year to contribute, and when it’s not.
Reuse ingredients and leftovers
If you have to buy ingredients, try to make sure they can be used in more than one dish. For example, try using the brown sugar you buy in both your sweet potato casserole and your dessert. Challenge yourself to use as few ingredients as possible.
Likewise, try to reuse any leftovers in even more recipes. Thanksgiving crunchwraps, or turkey noodle soup are just a couple of examples of recipes you can try.
Compost what you can
Not everything is compostable, but a lot of traditional Thanksgiving leftovers are.
Try using leftovers like fruits and veggies as enriching compost for your yard and garden!
If you’re interested in learning more about composting and reducing food waste, check out the resources we offer on our website.
Happy Thanksgiving!
COMPOSTING
Location: THE WOODLANDS, TX, USA
