by Maricelle Cardenas, StopWaste
In preparation for the big food gatherings coming up, we’ve asked StopWaste, the agency in Alameda County focused on reducing our county waste stream, to tell us about ways to minimize food waste over the winter holidays and throughout the year. The holidays often provide the chance to spend time with the people we love and share special food together. Unfortunately, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, more food goes to waste than any other time of year. The good news is that there are some simple ways we can celebrate food and community without the waste.
Reducing food waste at home doesn’t require drastic lifestyle changes. By making small shifts in how we shop for, prepare, and store food, we can toss less, eat well, and save money during the holidays and all year round. Here are some effective strategies to get started:
- Plan Ahead
Keep the menu simple and limit buying specialty spices and ingredients that you won’t use beyond the one recipe. Choose dishes that celebrate the bounty of vegetables in season—squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and more—and keep it light on animal products that cost more and require a lot more resources to produce. Keep in mind the number of people you have coming and any dietary restrictions they have. Save the Food’s Guestimator tool lets you input the number of guests you have coming and the dishes you plan to make to ensure you don’t cook more than you need. - Send guests home with leftovers
Ahead of the gathering, save yogurt tubs, take-out, and other containers you would otherwise recycle to send guests home with goodies. In the Filipino tradition, sending guests home with “baon”, or leftovers for a future snack or meal, is a way of extending the love and bounty of the meal. - Turn leftovers into new meals
Turkey sandwiches are tasty but there’s so much more you can do with holiday leftovers! Soups, pot pies, croquettes, curries, and even desserts like bread pudding and cranberry sauce cookies, are great ways to reinvent leftovers. Get creative with what you have and bring that energy into the new year. - Give homemade treats as gifts
For easy, personal holiday and hosting gifts, skip the online orders and try making edible DIY goodies like preserved lemons, homemade granola, veggie pickles, apple sauce, and more! Find recipes and tips here. - Give back to the community
This holiday season, consider supporting local community organizations that rescue surplus edible food and redistribute it to those in need. Especially smaller operations depend on word of mouth, monetary donations and volunteers to do their essential work. To find a group near you, start here: StopWaste Food Recovery Organization Directory - Compost your food scraps
During meal prep, compost food scraps like vegetable peels, eggshells, and bones to reduce waste. After the meal, encourage your guests to compost their plate waste too. Be sure to keep plastic packaging, metal, and glass out – only organic matter should go in the compost bin. This simple action helps close the loop on the food cycle, turning holiday leftovers into nutrient-rich soil amendment for future gardens.
For more tips and recipes to make the most of the food you love during the holidays and all year, visit www.StopFoodWaste.org, a project of StopWaste.