A Sustainable Feast- Thanksgiving Edition
The season of giving thanks, spending time with family, and experiencing food- induced comas is rapidly approaching us. Each of us have our own Thanksgiving traditions and here at Jones, our team wanted to share some of theirs! Traditions at Jones range from having their guests bring their own reusable containers for leftovers to decorating the table with edible squash arrangements that look amazing and taste even better. Whatever your traditions may be and however you choose to celebrate them, there are ways to incorporate more sustainable methods within those rituals. These environmentally- focused practices include reusable/biodegradable dinnerware, locally grown products, and minimizing food waste to create a wholesome and sustainable Thanksgiving.
Whether you’re hosting your first Thanksgiving with just you and a loved one or hosting your 30th Thanksgiving for your entire extended family, dinnerware is an important aspect of the process. Estelle Colored Glass, based in South Carolina and known for being a woman- owned company, is the perfect touch for any dinner while adding a bit of flare to your Thanksgiving dinner ensemble. ! Estelle offers all different kinds of glassware ranging from stemmed wine glasses, champagne coupes, martini glasses, and even cake stands that could be used for your autumnal pies. Along with your Estelle collection, reusable or biodegradable dinnerware would look beautiful and sustainable alongside the colorful glass set. However, dishes piling up after hosting your 30th Thanksgiving isa dreadful task to face after cooking all day so biodegradable plates can be substituted instead of your normal dinnerware. These biodegradable plates come in all kinds of side dishes, entrees, and desserts can be found at your local grocery store and are a sustainable alternative for plastic, wax covered plates.
Local farms in Boulder, Colorado ethically raise turkeys and grow fresh produce and have items in stock, ready to go specifically for your Thanksgiving feast. For your side dishes, Cure Organic Farm located off of Valmont Road in Boulder, Colorado offers their own Thanksgiving box filled with their organic and fresh produce. This Thanksgiving box includes three lbs of potatoes, two lbs Hakurei turnips, four lbs of onions, two lbs of carrots, two celeriac, two butternut squash, four carnival acorn squash, three lbs of apples, and two lbs of pears that could be used for a delicious, autumnal pie. This Thanksgiving box comes at a price of $100 and can be ordered online to be picked up on a date that is convenient for you. Cure Organic Farm is open daily from 12- 4pm and encourages you to stop by and say hello to the farm and their farm friends!
We can all agree that turkey on thanksgiving is one of the iconic and the most important dish, for some, on the table. The quality of your turkey for thanksgiving can range from frozen at your local grocery store or fresh from Jodar Farms located off of East County Road in Fort Collins. To get one of Jodar’s sustainably raised turkeys you will need to apply for a CSA membership which takes about five minutes to complete so you can move forward with pre ordering your thanksgiving turkey! All Jodar Farms asks for their customers is a $30 non-refundable deposit, a valid CSA membership, the size of the turkey you would like, and where you want to pick it up. The whole process is made easy so you can relax without getting caught up in the whirlwind the holidays stir up.
Thanksgiving is the kickstart to the holiday season filled with good people, fun festivities, and great food. To make your thanksgiving a more sustainable one, shopping locally for your veggies and turkeys, packing leftovers for your guests, and using sustainable pateware are just a few ways to do so. If there are other more creative ways that you know of or have utilized in the past to make your thanksgiving more environmentally conscious, I encourage you to write in the comments those ideas! I hope your thanksgiving is filled with great food and even better people!