Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving Tips: How to Host a More Sustainable Meal

Whether you intend to host a Thanksgiving feast with family or a Friendsgiving gathering, your festive celebration will likely center around an abundance of thankfulness. And of course, that gratitude will be served alongside turkey, delicious side dishes and pies!

But chew on this: Every year, American families waste roughly 1,160 pounds of uneaten food (especially during the holidays when there’s an abundance of leftovers). And these leftovers and other holiday entertaining factors impact our environment and economy. Thankfully, eco-friendly Thanksgiving practices aren’t hard to integrate into your holiday traditions. Read on for a few tips for hosting a sustainable Thanksgiving feast this year.

1. Craft a Sustainable Thanksgiving Menu

To host a sustainable Thanksgiving, menu planning is key. The decision to prepare a homemade dish is already an eco-friendly decision compared to purchasing prepared goods that are more processed and packaged. However, since food accounts for up to 30% of a household’s carbon footprint according to the Center for Sustainable Systems, it’s important to also plan based on the number of guests expected. When it comes to the main dish, the USDA recommends estimating about 1 pound of turkey per person.

You might also consider leaving the least-consumed dishes off the menu this year. Surveys consistently show that one-third of Americans do not eat traditional cranberry sauce. Yet every year, well-intentioned hosts hustle to offer both canned and homemade options. And what about the sides? Would your guests prefer fresh green beans or green bean casserole? Poll them before the meal to find out!

See more: How to Host Thanksgiving: Do’s and Don’ts

2. Host a Potluck-Style Meal

Hosting the Thanksgiving holiday might fill you with joy, but remember guests want to help too. Coordinate meal contributions to avoid having too much food or duplicating a dish altogether. After the meal, divide leftovers among the group to ensure none go to waste.

3. Take Stock Before Stocking Up

Before browsing the grocery aisles, take stock of what you already have in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Maybe you have a bag of potatoes for mashing, semi-stale bread that could transform into perfect stuffing or walnuts for topping an autumn salad. What about those marshmallows leftover from making campfire s’mores? Consider this a sweet find for your sweet potato casserole.

Doing a little inventory will keep you from overspending on unnecessary ingredients. Plus, you may even make some much-needed room for the remaining goods on your list. When you’re ready to shop for your Thanksgiving meal, remember to bring your reusable tote bags.

See more: How to Cook a Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

4. Savor Local Flavors

Support local farmers and producers to ensure your eco-friendly Thanksgiving fare is fresh, flavorful and nutrient-dense. Buying locally reduces transportation emissions associated with long-distance food shipping. Farmers markets are ideal for sourcing local Thanksgiving produce like apples, carrots, squash, Brussels sprouts and more. For your protein, you can seek out a local farmer for your turkey, too.

5. Cheers With Sustainable Sips

Instead of offering bottled water, fill pitchers with filtered tap water with festive flavors. For example, toss in sliced oranges, blackberries or cranberries. For single-serve refreshments, be sure guests know where to place recyclables, including glass bottles and aluminum cans. When pairing wines for a sustainable Thanksgiving, opt for vinos from a local vineyard or winery.

6. Reduce Food Waste

Plan portions for your meal according to party size to limit excessive leftovers, which, aside from impacting the environment, waste your money and time. Try using an online portion calculator to estimate how much food is ideal, or just work off recipe serving sizes.

As you’re choosing your recipes in preparation for the holiday, proactively select ones that can creatively repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers. Also, consider offering recyclable to-go containers so guests can conveniently take leftovers home. If you won’t consume leftovers within a few days, freeze them for future use.

If you have extra dry or packaged goods, donate these items to the local shelter or food bank.

7. Choose Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving Decor

Thanksgiving decorations can easily become wasteful, especially if you use items that are only meant for a single use. Instead, go with natural, reusable decor to give your table a cozy, eco-friendly feel. For example, decorate with apples, dried corn husks, pumpkins, gourds, pinecones and fall leaves. Use candles made from beeswax or soy instead of paraffin-based candles, which are derived from petroleum.

Likewise, opt for reusable, sustainable tableware, minimizing single-use plastics and disposables.

For other items, consider secondhand stores. Resale shops like Goodwill often offer a plethora of treasures like pilgrim salt-and-pepper shakers, Thanksgiving platters, orange cloth napkins and the like.

See more: How to Save Money on Thanksgiving Dinner: 15 Tips for Thanksgiving on a Budget

8. Be Energy Efficient

Your kitchen will be the busiest room in the house on Thanksgiving, likely with multiple appliances operating at once. While it’s hard to avoid using more energy than usual on the big day, there are ways to minimize your consumption.

Plan your cooking schedule to maximize energy efficiency. Use your oven strategically and try to cook multiple dishes at once to save energy. Additionally, using energy-efficient kitchen appliances can make a big difference. Also consider using smaller appliances like slow cookers, toaster ovens and microwaves to prepare smaller dishes rather than heating the entire oven.

With all the cooking and cleaning that goes into hosting a holiday, water usage can easily surge. Take steps to conserve water wherever possible. Soak pots and pans rather than letting the water run while you scrub, and run the dishwasher only when it’s full, using the eco or energy-saving mode.

9. Compost Food Scraps

Composting reduces the amount of organic waste that ends up in landfills while building up nutrient-rich soil. On Thanksgiving, you’ll have plenty to compost, like vegetable scraps and fruit peels. You can also compost turkey bones and other animal by-products after making stock, as well as natural decor items like pumpkins. Many local recycling centers accept pumpkins for composting, while local farmers often accept pumpkins as animal feed.

10. Rethink Black Friday

After the meal, you may also want to reconsider your Black Friday shopping tradition. Not only will you save on gas emissions but also on buying tons of packaged items. This holiday season, be mindful about gift-giving by shopping locally for sustainable gifts or making your own DIY goodies for friends and family.

Hosting a sustainable Thanksgiving doesn’t mean sacrificing tradition or flavor! By making a few minor, meaningful tweaks like these, it’s easy to host a more eco-friendly meal for any size crowd.