How to combat the 33% increase in food waste during the holidays

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — As you begin to plan holiday meals and family feasts, keep in mind how much of that may end up in a landfill.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency says 33% more food gets tossed during the holidays than at any other time of the year.

Experts say a lot of food waste is due to not planning, overbuying and improper food storage.

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Dietitian and nutritionist Kali Morgenstern says portion control is everything during the holidays — and it starts at the grocery store. She recommends using tracking apps like My Fitness Pal or Chronometer to plan your grocery list.

"In that app, you could put in the recipe and then put in how many serving sizes you would prefer. So, okay, I'm going to make this sweet potato casserole and I'm going to portion servings and then it'll tell you the nutritional value of those eight servings. So that way you can kind of gauge maybe I should either increase the serving sizes and plan for more people eating this dish or I should buy less ingredients," said Morgenstern.

Morgenstern says you can also consider purchasing foods that have a longer shelf life to save money and avoid waste.

"Don't hesitate to buy frozen or canned ingredients, because they are nutritionally equivalent to fresh, and again, butter shelf life. It's easier to kind of gauge portions," said Morgenstern.

One local food pantry says their demand increases during the holidays, exacerbating the food insecurity issue in the Miami Valley.

"We're doing over a thousand families this Thanksgiving. Christmas should be about the same. The demand is so high and the resources during the holiday is very limited because there's everybody that is out of food pantries trying to do the same resources and pulling from the same organizations," said Nicole Adkins, With God's Grace Mobile Food Pantry.

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She encourages people who buy excess perishable and non-perishable food items to donate them. To learn more about their services and donations, visit their website here .

Alternatively, the Dayton Foodbank has a compost bucket program where, for just $5 a month, you can collect food scraps in a bucket they provide. Once it's full, you bring it back, and they turn that waste into compost to grow fresh produce for local families in need.

Wondering what to do with your leftovers this Thanksgiving? Check out these creative recipes .