Every year, hundreds of pumpkins are left at grocery stores and pumpkin patches around the country. These gourds are unchosen, unhoused and uncarved. But this fall, they won’t go to waste. The animals at the Los Angeles Zoo are going to eat them.
“Some animals eat them; some attack them and rip them apart; some play with them; some small animals hide inside the pumpkins; some forage for their diet that is placed inside a carved pumpkin; some animals like primates love to forage and pick the seeds out and the elephants love to squish them,” said Rebecca Wilson, communications specialist for the zoo, in an email.
According to Wilson, the Westfield Mall will donate about 100 pumpkins to the zoo. Trader Joe’s in Manhattan Beach has also agreed to donate their pumpkins, and each Trader Joe’s location may pick a different non-profit.
Steve Benveniste from Toluca Lake Pumpkin Festival in North Hollywood sold out of pumpkins this year, but in years when he’s not so lucky, he donates to animal organizations. “Unless they’re rotted, they’re still perfectly good pumpkins,” he explained. In recent years, he’s donated to the L.A. Zoo and Griffith Park Petting Zoo.
Robert Quroz from Advent Pines pumpkin patch in Arcadia uses unsold pumpkins to feed the animals in his petting zoo. He rents the animals from a local farm, which takes any leftover pumpkins with them.
The Gentle Barn, an animal sanctuary in Santa Clarita, accepts pumpkin donations from the public to feed its pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys and other animals. Each year, the staff has a “pumpkin smashing party” to break them down and make it easier for animals to eat them.
Donating pumpkins is also the most eco-friendly disposal option. When pumpkins end up in the landfill, either carved or uncarved, they emit methane gas as they begin to break down. This gas is invisible, toxic and corrosive to the Earth’s ozone layer. Carved pumpkins are safest when composted, but uncarved pumpkins can be donated as food and broken down more quickly and naturally by animals. For students who have carved pumpkins or who are unable to donate, USC’s Zero Waste initiative will be composting pumpkins on campus in an event called “The Great Pumpkin Smash,” through November 4. Students can bring their jack-o’-lanterns to smash and then compost sustainably.
While the L.A. Zoo is accepting limited donations, they follow certain protocols to ensure the safety of their animals. This year, Wilson explained, they had to factor in the dangers of COVID-19 and the bird flu, because pumpkins may contain traces of bacteria on their surface. Any requests are run by the zoo’s director of animal programs, Beth Shaefer, the chief veterinarian, Dominique Keller and the nutritionist, Emily Schwartz. Then, the donated pumpkins are left to sit for at least 72 hours to avoid any contaminants. Finally, they may be washed off before being given to the animals.
Members of the public can request to donate to the L.A. Zoo or take unused, uncarved pumpkins to The Gentle Barn for animals in need of food.