How Long Do Thanksgiving Leftovers Last? Your guide to a waste free holiday

Over the holidays, household waste increases by 25%, and a lot of that is food. When food decomposes in landfills, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Emissions from food in landfills in Oregon each year are equivalent to burning 3,000 railcars worth of coal, and holiday food waste causes that number to spike. At the same time hunger is on the rise in Oregon: 12% of households were food insecure between 2021 and 2023.

It certainly isn’t in the spirit of Thanksgiving to toss food into landfills where it creates climate pollution, when instead, it could be used to feed hungry families or be turned into compost to nourish crops. Luckily, there are plenty of steps to take to reduce your household food waste this Thanksgiving.

Here are our top tips 

Plan Ahead and Serve Strategically

Reducing Thanksgiving food waste can be as simple as planning ahead. If you are hosting make sure to get an accurate headcount, be aware of dietary restrictions, and plan accordingly. FoodNetwork.com suggests about 1 lb. of food total per person. You can also use this handy tool to help plan your menu. Lastly, using smaller plates and letting guests serve themselves can help avoid plate scraps by reminding folks that their eyes are not bigger than their stomachs. 

Know How to interpret date labels: Best by, Use by, Sell By

Except for infant formula, food date labels are NOT federally regulated. This means that date labels are more so an indicator of quality than safety. Nearly 10% of all food waste is due to consumer confusion over date labels. With the exception of infant formula, food that is past its date label is usually still fine to eat until it’s evident that it has spoiled. Last year’s can of cranberry sauce or green beans could still be incorporated into this year’s meal. 

Plan for Leftovers

If you are hosting, make sure to establish a plan beforehand for how to deal with leftovers. Set the expectation ahead of time that guests should plan to take home leftovers: ask guests to bring their own containers, and maybe have some spare ones on hand for those who forget.

Store leftovers properly

The freezer is your friend; it’s basically a pause button for leftovers. 

Things to keep in mind when freezing foods:

• Store foods with a higher risk of food borne illness near the back of the freezer.
• Don’t put hot food in the freezer, it can cause other items to thaw.
• Safely thaw foods in the fridge or a cold bowl of water (change it every 30 min)
• Date label foods and know how long things last for using this chart:

When in Doubt: Donate or Compost

Your first goal with food waste should always be to avoid it in the first place, but sometimes we end up with food that we really don’t have a use for. 

Donation

• If you have food that you know you aren’t going to eat yourself, donate it. Existing laws protect people and organizations from liability when donating food to those in need. Check in with food pantries to make sure that they can use what you are planning to donate.

Compost

• Sometimes food can’t be donated, has gone bad, or is just scraps. In this case, the answer is to compost it. If you don’t have a compost, some cities, farmers markets, or community gardens have composting programs. You can also use kitchen compost or backyard compost.

Reducing wasted food would have ripple effects for our environment and community. The average household could save up to $1500 every year by reducing food waste and we could provide millions of meals to people. Not to mention, we could enrich our soil with high quality compost and significantly cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. Removing food waste from landfills could potentially reduce methane by 33%.