It’s Circular Economy Month and Thanksgiving is around the corner in Canada! As we feel the temperatures drop and see the root and squash vegetables fill grocery stands and local markets, let’s take a moment to think about how to mindfully prepare for and enjoy the holiday. Whether you’re hosting friends or family, contributing a dish to a potluck, or in need of some ideas for how to store and use up leftovers, we hope the following sustainable tips will inspire you. 

Hosting Thanksgiving? Tips for you: 

1. Consider asking your guests about contributing to a potluck. Potlucks can share the financial burden of preparing large meals (not to mention the labour involved!). 
2. If you’re hosting, plan out how you’ll store leftovers to maximize shelf life. Did you know there are best practices for how to store certain foods in your fridge? Find out more here. 
3. Plan ways to package meals you’ve prepared in advance without single-use plastics. Use reusables you have on hand before buying more. Here are our favourite types of reusables: 
   • First and foremost, before spending money on new reusables, be creative in how you use what you’ve got. For example, if stuffing is prepared in a bowl, simply cover with a plate that will sit comfortably over the bowl opening while storing in the fridge. 
   • Various-sized jars and lids (anyone else with a collection of haphazard jars diverted from the recycling bin? 🙋‍️). 
   • Beeswax wrap – great alternative to plastic wrap for direct-food contact. 
   • Linen or cotton tea towels – can be used to cover proofing dough; old, clean t-shirts can work in a pinch. 
   • Bowl covers – usually made from fabric with elastic sewn into the lining. 
   • Thermoses – fill them with soup or sauce and let cool before putting in the fridge. 
   • Metal, glass, or reusable plastic/silicone containers – for general food or ingredient-storing purposes. 

4. Decorations: use what you already have around the house or borrow from someone who won’t need them. If you need to buy them, find your next hidden gem at the local thrift store—or hazard DIYing your own! 

5. Cleaning up: use cloth napkins instead of single use and try out reusable paper towel for cleaning up spills (yes, these exist)!  

6. Little refillable luxuries: are you planning to bust out the nice soap for guests? Why not support your local refillery or zero-waste store by trying out one of their soaps? 

Attending Thanksgiving somewhere else? Tips for you: 

1. Bring reusable containers to take home leftovers. Three-for-one bonus: this helps avoid single-use plastics, prevents food from rotting in a landfill (or the host’s fridge!), and saves you from meal prep for the next few days.  

2. Shop your own closet, borrow from a friend, or buy secondhand for your Thanksgiving outfit before purchasing new clothes. 

3. Carpool or take public transit to and from your gathering. Don’t drink and drive (or drink and cycle!). 

Preparing meals for Thanksgiving? Tips for you: 

1. Consider preparing smaller portions than your instincts may tell you. Did you know that Americans waste 305 million pounds from Thanksgiving meals alone? Canadians have similar Thanksgiving traditions, so it’s important to reduce waste by making less. Many of us are familiar with the excessive amounts of food that is prepared and ultimately uneaten. Reduce food waste before it is made by avoiding making portions too big for your gathering to finish. The silver lining of smaller portions is the money saved in buying smaller amounts of ingredients. 

2. Made too much? Consider giving away excess to family, friends, and neighbours.  

3. Avoid single-use and unnecessary packaging waste in the ingredients or meals you buy. Consider purchasing ingredients with minimal packaging. When purchasing fruit and vegetables, opt for those without packaging and use a reusable bag to carry them. Check if your local restaurant or ready-to-serve bar will fill a container you’ve brought in place of a single-use take-out container. Many of the ingredients you need for baking pies and cooking autumn soups – like flour, spices, dried legumes, and other grains can easily be purchased in bulk in refillable containers.  

4. Consider the diet of what you’re serving and where the ingredients came from. From a purely environmental perspective, global meat consumption should be cut by 75 per cent, or no more than 20 kg per person per year. This suggestion applies to many in southern Canada where plant alternatives are accessible and plentiful. It’s important to note that some communities are unable to rely on plant alternatives due to climate conditions or because of socioeconomic factors. If choosing meat, buy from local producers if possible and avoid animal products from factory farms. 

5. Why not try a plant-based Thanksgiving this year? Get inspired by some great recipes by Rainbow Plant Life.  

6. Vegetarian dishes can be easy to make and are generally cheaper than their meat counterparts with only a little deviation from standard dishes—for example, swap a meat-broth gravy to a mushroom-broth gravy for the same great taste with less of a carbon footprint. 

7. Need to label prepared sauces? Ditch label-making waste. If your container is glass or plastic, try using a washable ink whiteboard marker to label jars and containers. Need something that won’t rub off accidentally? Write your label on a small piece of spare paper and “glue” it on with an easy-to-make natural glue—we tried just mixing flour and water, no cooking required—and it worked great as label adhesive on glass! 

8. Do you drive to pick up groceries? Pack your car with lots of reusable tote bags or bins. You may be purchasing more food than usual the next time you’re at the grocery store. By having extra bags on hand, you likely won’t need to buy more on the spot! 

9. If you walk, cycle, or take public transit, make sure you have more tote bags than usual near your front door, so you’re enticed to remember to bring them with you. 

Be a strong link in your community: 

Donate non-perishables to food banks. At a time when food insecurity across Canada has never been higher (and Ontario alone seeing nearly 7% of its population visiting food banks), it would be an opportune time to clear out provisions you no longer need. While food banks may not accept leftovers for safety reasons, consider donating unexpired shelf-stable goods to your local food bank. Why not go through your pantry to see if you have cans or jars of food you no longer need or want, check the expiry date, and donate to help someone in need?

Have leftovers to deal with? 

1. Don’t let them go to waste. As much as we all love Thanksgiving dinner, eating leftovers of it every day gets old. Get creative and try out different recipes using what you have left. Here are great recipes to repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers.  

2. Compost leftovers that cannot be turned into something else, especially food that you suspect is no longer safe to eat. 

Do you have any go-to tips for your sustainable holiday seasons? Let us know by posting on social media #CircularEconomyMonth!

Further reading: 

1. For a more professional zero waste chef’s perspective on Thanksgiving, check out the Zero Waste Chef’s Thanksgiving blog from 2016. 

2. Love Food Hate Waste fridge guide. 

3. Love Food Hate Waste Resource: Making the Most of Thanksgiving leftovers.