Washington State Food Center has tips on how to waste less food this holiday season

Imagine hosting your friends for an epic, waste-free “Friendsgiving,” where everyone brings a dish to contribute to the meal. Planning your menu and preparing all the food can seem like a monumental task. By the time everyone is getting ready to leave, however, a bigger question may emerge – what to do with all the leftovers?

According to the Washington State Food Center, a unit within the Department of Ecology tasked with supporting and tracking progress towards the state’s food waste reduction goals, Washingtonians waste 500,000 tons of edible food each year. The highest percentage of that waste is produced around the holidays and at large gatherings. By implementing a few simple strategies from the Use Food Well webpage, you can make the most of your holiday meal long after the guests have gone home.

Tips for a Waste Free Holiday Celebration

• Assign meal planning responsibilities. Provide anyone contributing to your holiday meal with an accurate count of guests so they can better plan how much food to bring. Have a menu that includes different food categories and ask guests to pick what they want to bring, so you don’t end up with too much food from a single category. Use a meal planning calculator to help calculate the right amount of food to prepare. 
• Think ahead about food storage. Provide a stack of food storage containers – tinfoil and paper plates also work well – so each guest can take home a second helping of everything. Label the containers so guests know what can be found inside. Hosts can extended the freshness of the leftover food by putting leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours.
• Get creative with holiday favorites. Check out the Use Food Well webpage for recipes and new twists on classic holiday foods. By making use of just a few additional ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, you can turn your holiday meal into something new and exciting all over again.

One of the best things about Friendsgiving and the holidays is the celebration of generosity where everyone brings something to the table to share. In this same spirit and by following a few simple tips, everyone at the table can work together to save on food waste this holiday season and help protect the environment.

Visit usefoodwell.org to start celebrating food waste free.