Easy Tips to Make Reducing Food Waste
Your New Holiday Tradition

Delicious food shared with family, friends, and coworkers is a hallmark of the holiday season. Our favorite foods have the power to bring back warm memories and build new traditions.

Unfortunately, a lot of that food goes to waste this time of year, and the impacts are significant. For starters, food waste takes a big bite out of our budgets. Studies show the typical American consumer throws out about 30% of the food purchased every year, adding up to a whopping $1,300 per person! Imagine how many holiday-concerts, sports, or airline tickets that would buy. That’s why we have launched the Too Good To Waste campaign to show the links between food waste, climate change, and saving your family money.

In landfills, decomposing food harms our planet by producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. All the labor, water, land use, and fuel required to grow and transport the food goes to waste as well.

“There are so many reasons why we go overboard during the holidays. As the weather turns cold, food signifies warmth and comfort. We want our tables to feel bountiful,” says Dr. Jess Watson, Executive Director of earthday365. “But many of us don’t know the best ways to properly store certain foods, how long leftovers can be kept, or what that ‘use by’ date on the label really means. We’re trying to help provide that education.”

Fortunately, making just a few small, easy changes in our shopping and cooking habits can add up to big personal savings while reducing our global footprint. Start with one or two steps, then gradually add others. Here are some ideas:

✹ Plan meals: How many people are coming to dinner, and how many does each recipe feed?

✹ Make a shopping list–then stick to it! Don’t shop when hungry to avoid impulse buys.

✹ Understand labels: “Best If Used By” does not mean the food expires or is unsafe to eat on that date, only that peak flavor or quality may start to decline.

✹ Plan what to do with extras: Label and freeze leftovers and/or send them home with guests.

✹ Get creative with leftovers: Line ramekins with leftover mashed potatoes, then fill with meat, vegetables and gravy for shepherd’s pies. Add rice or noodles to beaten eggs to make a breakfast frittata.

✹ Save those scraps! Make broth for soups out of veggie trimmings, a turkey or chicken carcass, and even hard Parmesan rinds. It’s so much more delicious and nutritious than broth from a carton or can!

✹ Compost: Give those spent fruit and veggie scraps new life, along with eggshells, used coffee grounds and tea leaves.

Want to learn more? Take a free class from food and lifestyle writer Pat Eby called “Got Abundance? Making the Most of Food”! Just in time for the holidays, you’ll get tips for finding imperfect yet perfectly good foods at bargain prices, best storage practices, and delicious ways to repurpose leftovers. The class goes from 10am to noon on Saturday, November 12 at the Thomas Dunn Learning Center, 3001 Gasconade Street. It’s free and open to all!  This class is offered in partnership with The Sustainable Backyard Network.

This holiday season, remember: Good food is #TooGoodToWaste!