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along with a glass and fork. That way, you will have plenty of dishes to go around, and the dirty ones will go home with their owners! Once the meal is finished, don’t let it sit idle. Encourage guests to sort and dispose of their scraps in a compost collection. Roughly 40% of food produced in the U.S. is thrown out, an incredible amount of waste. With a well-managed compost bin, those nutrients can be returned back to the soil. Leftover should be packed or frozen and used for future meals. If there is too much for you to handle,
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the food should be redistributed for guests to take home. Ask people to bring a container with them, so that they can tote a piece of the dinner home at the end of the night. Are you exchanging gifts? Consider spreading the magic of real food culture through a hands-on cheese making kit or a home brewing kit. Give the gift of education with a cookbook of fundamental techniques; I like Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. Stocking stuffers might include jars of local honey or a bar of fair trade chocolate. A seasonal produce calendar can
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be a fun reminder of what to anticipate next year at the farmers markets. And seed packets are a cheap and creative way to help develop a green thumb. You can also give postcards or greeting cards that have seeds embedded inside the paper, and can be planted after being read. Wrapping paper is another source of paper waste, but with some creative thinking, it’s easy to find alternatives that can be practical and stylish. Try wrapping gifts in reusable tote bags or light scarves. Reuse old maps, the comic pages from newspapers, and sheet music. If you do
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have a heap of discarded wrapping paper at the end of the night, be sure to recycle it, along with any other cans and bottles. Here’s to a celebration that sustains the spirit, body and planet! Crystal Cun is the Director of Distribution & Campaigns for FRESH, a 2009 documentary about the farmers, activists and entrepreneurs working to reinvent our food system. For info about the movie and more tips on sustainable living, check out www. freshthemovie.com.