Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate abundance, gratitude, and togetherness. It’s also a perfect moment to reflect on how we can make the most of our food—not just on the holiday, but all year long.
Did you know the average family loses $1,500 annually to wasted food?
Nationwide, that adds up to 90 billion pounds of food tossed each year. The U.S. spends over $162 billion growing, processing, and transporting food that never gets eaten. That waste hits our wallets—and our environment.
Let’s turn the tide with a few simple habits:
- Understand Date Labels: “Best if used by” and “sell by” dates refer to peak quality—not safety. Many foods are still safe to eat if stored properly. Learn more with Illinois Extension's Food Safety Information Sheets at extension.illinois.edu/food-safety/infosheets
- Make a Plan: Buy only what you need. Weekly meal planning helps avoid impulse purchases and food waste.
- Cooking fo:r one or two? Choose smaller portions and recycle packaging when possible.
- Get Creative with Leftovers: Half an avocado and stray veggies? Turn them into a stir-fry, omelet, or sandwich spread. Try non-edible uses too—like a sugar-coffee scrub or citrus vinegar cleaner.
- Dining out? Order mindfully or share a meal to avoid leftovers going uneaten.
Watch this video to learn more about Reducing Food Waste at go.illinois.edu/FoodWasteVideo
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.