IKEA aims to reduce food waste by cooking with scraps

IKEA Canada has released a new cookbook filled with recipes that use kitchen scraps. The ScrapsBook cookbook is a collaborative project with 10 North American chefs.

IKEA aims to inspire Canadians to reduce food waste in their homes and teach them how to cook with food scraps that often end up in landfills.

“In Canada, research tells us that almost two thirds of food scraps that end up as kitchen waste could have been eaten,” said Johanna Andren, head of marketing at IKEA Canada.

“Seeing how much waste is created in one of the most important rooms in the home, we set out to inspire Canadians by giving food scraps another look and offering new, creative ways to reduce food waste at home.”

Featuring renowned chefs like Adrian Forte, Craig Wong, and Trevor Bird, the IKEA ScrapsBook includes a diverse range of cuisines and cultures. Each chef has contributed five recipes to the cookbook that is free to download online. It is also available on Apple Books and Google Play Books.

An estimated 2.2 million tonnes of food is wasted in Canada every year. IKEA Canada wants to actively reduce food waste both at home, but also across its restaurants and food services. The retailer has already reduced food waste by 31 percent across its kitchens nationwide and is on its way to achieving a 50 percent reduction in food waste by the end of this year.

“Food is valuable and precious. We believe that everyone in the food chain has a role to play in preventing and reducing food waste,” said Melissa Barbosa, sustainability manager for IKEA Canada.

“By providing new solutions and drawing on the passion of our co-workers and customers, we can help tackle Canada’s food waste challenge.”

To support The ScrapsBook, IKEA will launch #Scrapcooking Sundays, a weekly series of live cooking tutorials on Instagram Live hosted by contributing chefs this Spring.