Economy
New Cookbook Initiative Turns Food Surplus into Community Value
CP Axtra, in collaboration with NSTDA and SOS Thailand, has launched a cookbook featuring recipes from renowned chefs to repurpose food surplus for community kitchens.
On September 6, 2026, CP Axtra—the operator of Makro and Lotus’s—announced a new initiative aimed at managing food surplus across Thailand. In partnership with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation (SOS Thailand), the company introduced a cookbook featuring recipes developed by prominent Thai chefs. The launch event took place at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao in Bangkok.
The primary objective of this project is to provide central kitchens and local communities nationwide with practical methods to transform surplus ingredients into nutritious meals. By utilizing these professional recipes, the organizers hope to reduce food waste while simultaneously supporting community food security.
For residents and travelers, this initiative highlights a growing national focus on sustainable food management and waste reduction. While the cookbook is intended to assist community-level food distribution, it remains to be seen how widely these practices will be adopted by smaller, independent food vendors or individual households. Furthermore, the long-term impact of this program on overall national food waste statistics has yet to be confirmed. This effort represents a collaborative step between the private sector and research institutions to address the logistical challenges of food surplus in Thailand.