Many Americans look forward to all the left-overs and have figured out good ways to use them over the following few days (or weeks). Others, though, simply toss much of the excess food away.
San Francisco-based Imperfect Foods, a group dedicated to eliminating food waste and building a better food system for everyone, estimates that Americans will throw away a Thanksgiving feast worth a $5.9 billion this year.
Over the course of a full year, an average U.S. household will throw away $1,752 worth of food according to Imperfect Foods. There are about 126 million U.S. households and that totes up to nearly $221 billion in wasted food in a single year. And that waste happens while 41 million Americans, including 13 million children, are hungry.
Seven of the country’s largest states will each waste more than $200 million worth of food this Thanksgiving: California ($699 million); Texas ($507 million); Florida ($376 million); New York ($345 million); Pennsylvania ($226 million); Illinois ($225 million); and Ohio ($207 million).
The following chart shows the 10 U.S. cities that will waste the most food this Thanksgiving.
Rank | City | State | Thanksgiving Food Waste |
---|---|---|---|
1 | New York | New York | $148,405,877 |
2 | Los Angeles | California | $70,511,358 |
3 | Chicago | Illinois | $47,814,914 |
4 | Houston | Texas | $41,091,620 |
5 | Phoenix | Arizona | $29,337,006 |
6 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | $27,991,718 |
7 | San Antonio | Texas | $27,074,557 |
8 | San Diego | California | $25,196,996 |
9 | Dallas | Texas | $23,766,980 |
10 | San Jose | California | $18,202,203 |
Imperfect Foods suggests five ways to help reduce food waste. First, buy only as much fresh food as you can realistically consume, plan meals in advance, and use a list. Second, use smaller-size plates that hold smaller portions. Third, save and use leftovers as much as possible. Hosts try their best but the road to the “host with the most” award — while paved with the best of intentions — often turns out to be a stairway to hell. So here are 30 Thanksgiving hosting mistakes you should not make.