With the festive season in full swing, Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) renews its efforts to instruct Oregonians on how to reduce food waste through the Bad Apple Campaign, an initiative that not only aims to alleviate the burden of inflation but also extends the life of holiday meals while conserving household funds. Senior policy and program analyst for the DEQ, Elaine Blatt, has emphasized the tangible benefits of strategic food preservation, stating, "Households of all sizes are finding easy, practical things to keep their meal budgets down and preserve food before it goes to the compost bin and landfill," noting that a family of four managed to cut down their expenditures by $200 a month, according to a report by DEQ's news release.

As part of its outreach, the Bad Apple Campaign shares a compendium of experiences, tips and stories intended not just for the holiday season but as an adaptable guide for year-round sustainability; in turn, this knowledge will be disseminated through various mediums including local media, as well as community events such as farmer’s markets and schools with the campaign materials being made available for use by media and regional organizations, experiencing updates to stay relevant with the changing seasons and DEQ Director Leah Feldon has amplified this sentiment emphasizing that, "Reducing food waste is one of the most practical ways each of us can benefit the environment," as stated by the Department of Environmental Quality.

With its unfortunate ranking, food waste stands as the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions after transportation, when based on consumption-driven emissions — a staggering 35% of all food produced or imported in the United States never reaches the consumer's plate. This reality is underscored by the extensive resources consumed by food production, including land, water, and labor, all of which contribute to its environmental impact, as per the DEQ press release.