KPBS Midday Edition

How To Reduce Food Waste This Thanksgiving

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Brooke Ruth / Senior Producer, Radio News

Published November 25, 2019 at 11:30 AM PST

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Food is the single largest item disposed of in landfills, amounting to each person tossing an average of 20 pounds of food per month.

Many of us are fortunate enough to have Thanksgiving dinners overflowing with main dishes, side dishes, snacks and desserts. All that food makes for a welcoming table, but it can also lead to a serious amount of food waste. And it’s not just a problem at Thanksgiving.

Individuals throw out an average of 20 pounds of food per month, making food the single largest item disposed of in landfills in the United States.

Decomposing food in a landfill creates methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat and warms the atmosphere.

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Food waste is an environmental problem, a social problem considering 1 in 7 San Diegans face food insecurity and an economic problem that costs an average of $1,500 a year, per family.

Ian Monahan with I Love A Clean San Diego joined Midday Edition with a few tips on how to prevent food waste this Thanksgiving holiday.

Tips For Reducing Food Waste

Use the Guest-imator website to help you determine how much food to buy
Reduce meat dishes and increase veggie dishes
Let guests serve themselves
Use smaller plates and serving spoons
Ask guests to bring to-go containers
Get creative with leftovers

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Brooke Ruth

Brooke Ruth is the senior producer for KPBS Radio News. She previously served as a producer for "KPBS Midday Edition" and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

See stories by Brooke Ruth