Thanksgiving 20024: How to Plan a Less Wasteful Holiday

CHICAGO– Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness, gratitude and celebration.

Yet Americans waste about 40% of our food every year. And all that food ends up in landfills, creating harmful greenhouse gases.

But as people come together to give thanks this year, there are ways to keep perfectly good food out of the trash and on the tables of those who need it most.

Every year, Americans throw away 200 million pounds of turkey during Thanksgiving week.

“That not only wastes the turkey that ends up in the landfill, but also all the resources that go into producing that turkey,” says Rebecca Riley.

Riley is the Managing Director for Food and Agriculture at the nonprofit environmental group, NRDC.

One in eight Americans faces food insecurity. Riley said it’s something to think about when preparing for the holidays.

Make a plan

“The first and most important thing you should do is make a meal plan,” Riley suggested.

The NRDC has a handy online tool called the Guestimator savethefood.com.

“It will help you figure out what size turkey to buy, how many side dishes and how big should they be,” Riley said. “And if you plan your meal based on the number of guests you have, it will be much easier to avoid that food waste.”

Thanksgiving leftovers

The Guestimator even helps you make a plan for all those leftovers.

“Leftovers are great and leftovers belong to many people, including my favorite part of Thanksgiving,” Riley said. “And so it’s about making sure you eat those leftovers.”

Riley also recommends letting guests serve themselves.

“Because when people serve themselves, they’re more likely to take the food they’re likely to eat,” she said.

Store food scraps

“Food scraps are great to think about,” Riley said. “You can throw them in the freezer for vegetable scraps and make a stock. You can also compost them.”

The holidays are a great time to start composting for the first time.

“You can absolutely try it out on Thanksgiving if you have a drop site nearby,” Riley said.

There are twenty free food waste drop-off points in the city of Chicago alone.

And if saving the planet isn’t enough to convince you to reduce your food waste, maybe more money in your wallet will. (Save money) text over video

“The average family of four wastes about $1,800 a year on wasted food, food that we throw away,” says Riley.

This story is part of our Climate Ready series – a partnership between ABC News and ABC’s television stations, aimed at providing practical solutions to help you and your family adapt to extreme weather events and the current challenges of climate change .