Food leftovers are one of the biggest contributor to waste. Find out all the reasons why leftovers are so prevalent and all the benefits in eating your leftovers. Discover different productive ways to influence a culture of eating leftovers.

1. How Can we Get More
Folks to Eat Up Leftovers?
Jacquelyn A. Ottman
August 2020

2. Leftovers represent a BIG part
of all the food that goes to
waste in America. Most of that
food winds up in landfills,
contributing to greenhouse
gases when it degrades.
WHY is this happening?

3. Reason #1: IGNORANCE.
Many Americans just don’t
understand where their trash gets
taken “away” to, much less how
many resources it takes to get
food to their tables, or the
impacts once it reaches a landfill.

4. Reason #2:
LACK OF EXPERTISE:
We don’t know how to plan
meals, estimate correct
portions, or understand the
real meaning of “Best By”
and “Use By” dates.

5. Reason #3:
REFRIGERATORS: They
are too big! It’s too easy
to stash extra food, and
they keep getting lost in
the back!

6. In order to get them
to eat more
leftovers, we need
to first get folks
over three key
barriers.

7. One Barrier:
Longstanding
negative health
associations of
leftovers.

8. Another Barrier:
We are losing our
cooking skills as a
society. Moms work,
Kids don’t learn how to
cook in school, scouts or
4H

9. A Third Barrier:
Eating up leftovers
competes with more
convenient (but less
“beneficial”) disposal
alternatives: trash
and composting.

10. Some good opportunities:
1) Leftovers are cheap &
convenient,

11. Some good opportunities:
1) Leftovers are cheap &
convenient,
2) They have positive associations
like nostalgia, warmth, sentiment;

12. Some good opportunities:
1) Leftovers are cheap &
convenient,
2) They have positive associations
like nostalgia, warmth, sentiment;
3) They have influential advocates,
like chefs, restaurant owners,
other foodies

13. Good news! There are
likely 50+ things we can
all do to help change
leftovers history.

14. Strategy #1:
Leverage the expertise
and cachet of chefs and
good home cooks: connect
them with local food
writers, Facebook groups,
Instagram feeds, etc.

15. Strategy #2:
Promote hip new
restaurant entrees that
leverage leftovers: “trash
rice”, “chicken compost”
“confetti casserole”;
Require doggy bags; food
donations

16. Strategy #3:
Teach people the “matrix” of
leftover dishes, many of which
come from many different cultures
or cuisines; update for today
FRITTATA
FISH CAKES
GRAIN BOWLS
FRIED RICE
CURRIES
SAVORY TARTS
SOUP

17. Strategy #4:
Create new social occasions:
Friday “must go” buffet,
Leftovers pooling party;
Post-holiday leftovers swaps
http://www.wehatetowaste.com/leftovers-
pooling-party-food-waste/

18. Strategy #5:
Leverage “community”
pantries, refrigerators
http://www.wehatetowaste.com
/community-fridge-frome-food-
waste/

19. Strategy #6:
Leverage Social Media:
Facebook pages,
Neighbor.com,
buildinglink.com

20. Strategy #7:
Set a Good Example:
● Send home guests with
leftovers
● Bring reusable containers
● Make one of the leftovers
matrix dishes for friends
● Teach your kids to cook

21. Strategy #8: Advocate and Engage Others
● Write a blog post on leftovers
● Reach out to a local food writer with
insights and stats
● Publish your favorite leftovers recipe
● Encourage good food use practices in
local restaurants and cafeterias
● Start a teach your kids to cook day

22. I have 42 more strategies —
and am writing them all up in
my new book. Watch out
leftovers — I’m hoping to make
you a thing of the past!

23. About Jacquelyn Ottman
Jacquelyn Ottman is a native New Yorker and an advocate for zero waste. A pioneer in the field of
green marketing, she is the author of several books on the subject, and advisor to Fortune 500
companies and the U.S. government. She is a past chair, Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board,
and editor and founder of WeHateToWaste.com
Ottman is a home cook since childhood and the author of two self-published books on her
personal culinary history: “Family Gatherings: Five Recipes from Five Generations” (2000), a
collection of family recipes; and “Ottman and Company: One Daughter Remembers” (2017), the
story of her family’s 150-year old NYC meat purveying firm.
She is currently working on a multi-cultural and social history of leftovers, with the goal of
inspiring home cooks to discover the joy in transforming what’s left from yesterday’s dinner into
something new and special.
Reach her at Jacquelyn Ottman [@] gmail. com

24. Copyright © Jacquelyn A. Ottman
All Rights Reserved