An Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving

Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner is on the forefront of everyone’s minds this week. The thought of making it an “eco-friendly” dinner, though? That might be taking the back burner. The idea of making an already very hectic Thanksgiving feast eco-friendly sounds like a major hassle, but it’s easier than you think! Doing these very simple things will help you to reduce your carbon footprint and overall energy consumption, while also conserving your resources and minimizing the amount of waste you and your family produce this holiday season.

SHOP FROM YOUR FRIDGE

Supermarkets and grocery stores host a plethora of sales and discounts during this time to encourage families to buy large quantities of food for Thanksgiving day, but after all, it is just a single meal on one day of the entire year. Before heading down to the grocery store, make a list of every ingredient you need for every dish you’re going to make. Then, before even getting in your car, take a shopping trip in your fridge and pantry! Take note of every ingredient you already own so you don’t end up buying duplicates and wasting them both in the end. 

SKIP THE GUESSING

Rather than trying to make an assumption as to how many mouths you need to feed, make a solid and hopefully, semi-accurate, guesstimate. After finding out how many are confirmed to attend, make a list of their names and ever-so-slightly judge their eating habits. Label each attendee as a small, average, or big eater. Check out this website from Save the Food to input this information into, so that way you know exactly how much to buy and cook when the day comes!

REUSABLE CONTAINERS

No point in letting all that sweat, blood, and tears that you put into your delicious Thanksgiving food go to waste. Pick up a cheap set of glass containers from any grocery store so you can store any leftovers in these containers, and send some home with family so they have something to snack on for the journey back. If you’re worried about them “forgetting” to return your fancy glassware, opt to purchase some compostable, to-go containers and package their food in there! Leftovers tend to be looked down upon, especially after a big feast like Thanksgiving, but it’s crucial that the food that was made is finished up and not left to mold and rot in the back of your fridge.

DONATION AND COMPOSTING

If the leftover quantity is still too much for you and the rest of your family to handle, donating to a local food bank is always a great option. Donating any unopened cans or boxes is also something you can do to local food banks if you happened to overbuy during your pre-Thanksgiving shopping. Another way to get rid of the extra food in an eco-friendly manner is to get into composting. If you have the yard space for it, consider building a simple compost bin for Thanksgiving to collect any food scraps. Don’t compost any foods with dairy, bones, and meat scraps to avoid a mess of flies, rats, and other pests flooding your backyard.