Friday, November 20 from noon to 1 p.m.

Learn more about what you should or should not place in your curbside recycling, curbside or drop-off organics recycling, and your backyard compost bin. Ask those questions that came up since your intro training!

RSVP on the Facebook event or by emailing your liaison.

From first birthdays and Thanksgiving to dinners and graduation parties, learn strategies for hosting low-waste celebrations and giving low-waste gifts.

• Saturday, December 12 from 10 to 11 a.m.
• Tuesday, December 15 from 6 to 7 p.m.

Please RSVP on the Facebook event for December 12 or December 15, or by emailing your liaison.

Thanksgiving dinner celebrates the plentiful harvest, but many of us have a tradition of going overboard. Unfortunately, that means the meal can result in a lot of waste, and this year may be especially hard to plan for with restrictions on large gatherings in place.

You can take steps to prevent waste during all stages of your meal experience, whether you plan to go smaller or you get creative about sharing your celebrations. But don’t stop at Turkey (or Tofurkey) Day! The tactics you learn here can be applied to any event or occasion year-round.

• Use a portion calculator like Save the Food's Guestimator to match servings with the number of eaters. This year, you might consider buying only a portion of a turkey instead of the whole bird if you only have a few people to feed.
• Simplify your menu. Fewer dishes to cook means less time in the kitchen, less food to put away, and less stress overall. Get ideas for planning a smaller feast from The New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens, and The Food Network.
• Reduce the foodprint of your meal by planning your menu to use local ingredients. Get ideas from Minnesota Grown.

• Don’t be afraid to switch things up. Is there a dish that nobody actually loves but you make it because of tradition? Time to let it go and make room for something better.
• Once you get into the store to purchase your food, be aware of the packaging and use your zero waste shopping habits. Ask yourself: Is the packaging recyclable? Compostable? Avoidable?

• If you order Thanksgiving meals to go from a restaurant or grocery store, make sure to request no napkins or silverware. Ask to exclude items you won’t eat that come with the meal.
• Save containers ahead of time to store leftovers or food you are going to swap or give to family and friends. Recyclable containers from take-out meals or other store-bought items work great for sharing food.
  
  

Cut down on food waste while you prepare and cook your meals. While cutting up fruits and vegetables, leave on edible skins (such as for potatoes, carrots, apples and some squash), or save the vegetable scraps and ends for a soup broth (tip: you can freeze them and make it later).

For food scraps you cannot prevent or use, put them in organics recycling or your backyard compost bin. See the composting and organics recycling 101 section of the Zero Waste Guide for a refresher.

While you cook, do simple things like setting timers and keeping your focus to avoid kitchen mishaps like burning food or adding the wrong ingredients. There are also some tricks to save your dish when it just doesn’t taste quite right. One Green Planet has a useful article on fixing common seasoning mistakes to save your dinner.

There are ways to prevent waste while you eat, too! Cut plate waste by offering smaller plate sizes, which encourages people to take seconds rather than filling up their plate when their eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

Make sure to follow food safety guidelines so that your food is safe to eat later. Keep hot food hot, or above 140 degrees, and cold food under 40 degrees. Don’t leave perishable food out more than two hours at room temperature, and if you have multiple trays of food, keep one on reserve until the first runs out.

After you’ve eaten your meal, place leftover food in small containers so it can cool quickly and get it refrigerated.
If you love leftovers and planned your meal for extra food, you get to reap the rewards of a marathon cooking session for the next week or so. If you don’t like leftovers, reduce the amounts you are making or have a plan to share what’s left with someone who will eat it.

If you get sick of eating the food as prepared, the Internet has hundreds of recipes that reimagine Thanksgiving leftovers. Consider making pancakes, fritters or pizza crusts with mashed potatoes, soup, scrambled eggs, stir fries or sauces with vegetables, a shepherd’s pie with almost all of it, or an ice cream shake with leftover pie. Get additional ideas and recipes from Delish.

Whatever your holiday plans, aim to cook the right amount, keep tabs on what’s left in the fridge or freezer, and in the words of our colleague Nancy Lo, “just eat it!”