To open up conversations about food waste and help families connect through cooking, Ocado and Beano have teamed up to create ‘The Food Waste Cookbook’ with the help of agency, in a new campaign from Mischief.

The cookbook is filled with easy recipes for parents and children to make together, making food go further and encouraging families to tackle the topic of food waste to encourage more sustainable eating habits.

Research from Beano Brain found that over half of parents (56%) say they’ve never had a conversation with their children about food waste, while over a third (37%) of children say they’d like to cook more with their family at home. The family-friendly cookbook which makes use of well-known Beano drawings, injects some fun and joy into cooking while striving to bridge the education gap by opening up important discussions.

The cookbook is fronted by Broadcaster and Adventurer, Ben Fogle and opens with a comic strip starring Ben as Bananaman’s sidekick. In an opening story centered around a mountain of food waste, Ben seeks the help of Beano favorites Dennis, Gnasher and their Beanotown friends to come up with creative ideas to reduce waste.

Following on from the comic are five tasty recipes inspired by the comic book characters made using various commonly wasted household food items such as bananas and bread. ‘Nearly Gone-offee Pie’ makes use of overripe bananas to make a tasty and indulgent treat, ‘Bangers & Gnash’ demonstrates the versatility of root veg as a hearty supplement to potatoes. The recipe highlights the way that potatoes are still good to use if they have started to sprout so long as they are scrubbed and washed.

Jammy Dodger French Toast demonstrates a new way to revitalize not-so-soft bread, and Speedy Spicy Eggs & Mega Mango Splat makes use of any leftover mango chutney from a curry night for a protein-packed dish.

The recipes are in keeping with the comic’s mischievous nature and are displayed alongside comic strips, characters and cheeky illustrations to maximize visual engagement. The final page of the cookbook includes some useful tips on how to prevent food waste and a game where children are asked to guess where best to store food for preservation.

Recently, supermarkets have been removing ‘best before’ dates from fresh products to help households make better use of their groceries. Where Ocado doesn’t have stores, freshness is crucial to its operation. Without having to store food in-store, food can be delivered straight to consumers' doors so that it arrives fresher, lasts longer and goes further. With research from the supermarket finding that 9 in 10 (89%) iterated that it was important the produce they used to cook was as fresh as possible, the Beano cookbook helps to educate families and extend the shelf-life of their produce, increasing value.

By engaging families in food waste together, Ocado is also able to help prepare children for the future and create a more sustainable system. Beano Brain research finds that 66% of parents say their child is more knowledgeable about environmental issues than they were at that age, spelling optimism for the future.

To capitalize on this knowledge and passion for the future, Ocado and Beano have also created a series of ‘Beano for Schools’ lesson plans for pupils in KS1 and KS2, where teachers can incorporate lessons on food waste into their PSHE curriculum.

The Food Waste Cookbook is able to connect families, add value by making food go further and help educate future generations to build a more sustainable future. Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change but by borrowing the mischievous nature of the Beano Brand, Occado is able to make tackling food waste fun.