9 Tips from the ReFED Staff for a Low Food Waste Holiday

The holiday season, filled with gatherings and celebrations, brings with it more time spent around the table and more food prepared in our kitchens. Along with that comes a surge in household food waste. In fact, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that household garbage increases by about 25 percent—with food making up a significant portion of what’s thrown away.

Here at ReFED, reducing food waste isn’t just something we work on professionally. It’s something we think about in our own homes, especially during the busy, food-filled weeks of the holiday season!

To help you stay ahead of holiday food waste this year, we asked members of the ReFED team to share the practical strategies they use in their own kitchens to reduce waste. From smarter planning to creative leftover makeovers, here are some of their favorite tips:

Sara Burnett, Executive Director

“I do a few things:

1. I create a master spreadsheet of all the meals including the number of guests to help me plan the groceries.

2. I plan at least one or two "leftover" meals where we get out all the leftovers to craft into new items.

3. I plan for soup or stew toward the end of the holidays, using bones and veggie scraps for both, along with other side items I've tossed in the freezer along the way. A few roasted potatoes, leftover mashed potatoes, a ham bone, and a slew of leftover veggies can make for a nice creamy potato soup made with a ham bone stock and assorted vegetables (corn, green beans).”

Jeffrey Zurita, Software Engineer

“We try to really think about what the guests that we’re hosting will actually want to eat. If there is a lot of variety in food taste, making giant singular dishes just puts a lot of pressure on the people that love those specific dishes.

Also, we try to think of how much ACTUAL cooking time we will have. We don't buy a lot of groceries for many time-intensive meals if we know we are actually going to be eating out a lot or just generally out of the house.”

Ann Dang, Development and Finance Coordinator

“We try to clean out our fridge/freezer before the end of the year. It’s a good way to start the year off fresh and find some fun treats in the back of the freezer that we had forgotten about!”

Kumar Chandran, Policy Director

“My food waste kryptonite is fresh herbs. The store usually sells fresh herbs in bunches that are more than the amount called for in a recipe. First, when I get home from the store, I wrap herbs (such as cilantro, parsley, dill, basil, etc.) in a damp paper towel and store it in a ziploc bag, which usually extends the life by a fair amount.

Then, if I think I won't use them, I turn it into ‘any herb pesto’ and freeze the pesto in ice cube trays. You can then defrost how much you need and add to pasta, soups, etc.

Also, cilantro stems have a lot of flavor! I'll chop up the stems and add to the step when I am sauteeing aromatics. And then use the leafy parts at the end.”

Jeff Costantino, Director, Communications & Brand

“As much as I love leftovers, there's only so much freezer space available. So I try to adjust the recipes I'm making based on the number of guests that are coming (with a buffer for leftovers they can take, as well as what I know I'll be able to eat on my own). Of course, not all recipes can be cut down—but I can always find freezer space for leftover pie.”

Nate Clark, Communications & Content Manager

“Re-gifting food is okay! Don't like your neighbor's Christmas cookies? Get one of those massive tins of popcorn, but hate popcorn? Just not sure how many candy canes you and your family can consume?! Save yourself a trip to the big box store and re-gift the food that would otherwise go to waste. You'll bring joy to someone else and keep delicious (maybe not you, but to some) food out of the landfill.”

Nia D’Emilio, Communications Manager

“Make sending leftovers home part of your holiday gatherings! If you’re hosting, ask guests to bring their own containers so everyone leaves with something to enjoy later, and you cut down on the amount of food being thrown away.”

Marigold Watkins, Director of Research

“My household will always take all the Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers (once we have had some great sandwiches) and then turn everything else (turkey, veggies, stuffing, gravy, even cranberry sauce) into a pie with leeks (put crust/puff pastry over the top) and suddenly you have a new, exciting dish which always gets devoured. And might be more popular than the main holiday meal!”

Shawn Shepard, Vice President, Operations & Finance

“Leftover dabs of cheese on the cheeseboard can be blended together with cream cheese to build a fun cheeseball for a New Year's gathering—just blend, shape in a ball, and coat with chopped green onions or nuts or fruits. You can also blend leftover cheese on the cheeseboard with bechamel sauce to make the best macaroni and cheese—a little post-holiday comfort food. And leftover cranberry sauce, berries, and citrus can be put in a bundt pan with a sparkling soda of some kind and frozen for a nice add to a New Year's or Super Bowl punch bowl.”

Check out additional tips for reducing food waste in your home.