Get ready to fire up the grill, but beware of wasting food! New estimates predict a mountain of discarded Independence Day cookout fare — over 120 million pounds.

Food waste often goes unnoticed. A bit of leftover potato salad, a couple of tablespoons of coleslaw, a few extra hot dogs and cheeseburgers — it seems harmless. But those seemingly small amounts add up quickly.

The wasted food from this year's holiday will translate into a hefty $12 million loss. Even more concerning are the hidden environmental costs. All of this wasted food required nearly 33 million gallons of water to produce, which is enough to sustain New York City for a month! Landfills will become the unfortunate home of this discarded food, generating over 500,000 metric tons of climate-warming emissions — equivalent to over 122,000 cars on the road for a year. Think beyond the food itself – the resources used to grow it, like labor, water and energy, are also squandered.

Instead of ending up in a landfill, this wasted food could be a lifeline. It could provide two meals for every one of the 44.2 million Americans facing hunger.

Thankfully, solutions exist! Plan your portions carefully, encourage guests to bring containers for leftovers, and get creative with using what's leftover. We can celebrate our nation's independence while also being responsible stewards of the environment for future generations.

Here are some tips for reducing food waste at your July 4th celebrations:

1. If you're hosting a 4th of July party, calculate how much you'll need to serve to each person attending your gathering and purchase the proper amount of food accordingly. Use a tool like the "Save the Food" Guest-imator to tell you how much to make while accounting for all of your side dishes and different appetite levels.
2. Check your pantry, refrigerator and freezer for food items that can be used for your barbecue or meal before you go shopping, and try to use what you already have on hand as part of your meal planning.
3. If you have a Salvage Grocery Store near you, shop there first before going to your usual grocery store to do your July 4th meal shopping. Items like hot dogs, hamburgers, pickles, mustard, ketchup and frozen desserts can frequently be found at salvage grocery stores.
4. Develop a leftovers strategy. Check with your guests beforehand to see if they'd like to take leftovers home with them, and aim towards cooking no more than that amount. Make sure you have plenty of containers, food wrappers, and other storage items in which to pack everything. You can also have your guests bring their own storage containers along with them or give them a gift of earth-friendly food saving beeswax wraps or storage containers.
5. Go through your freezer and use whatever you can to free up space for the possibility of having to freeze some of your leftovers..

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