Calling all chefs, home cooks, and foodies!
The City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations (OSI) invites members of the public to contribute to the A²ZERO Community Cookbook, a free cookbook to help promote our work towards a sustainable food ecosystem!
Submissions to the Cookbook are now open. The deadline to submit recipes, tips, and stories is February 1st, 2025 at 11:59pm.
Project Background
Did you know that food systems are responsible for nearly a third of all global greenhouse gas emissions? Reducing emissions from food is an important part of
A²ZERO, Ann Arbor’s plan for a just and equitable transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.
Individual food choices play a major role in addressing climate change and creating a more sustainable food system, yet knowing what to eat, where to shop, and how to manage food once its in your kitchen can be a challenge. That is why we are launching the A²ZERO Community Cookbook project!
The A²ZERO Community Cookbook will be a free and practical resource for sustainable eating, featuring recipes and food tips contributed by members of the Ann Arbor community, alongside stories of local sustainable food leaders. Through the cookbook, we hope to draw inspiration from and celebrate the many ways that Ann Arbor residents are already taking action towards a more sustainable food system, while highlighting the role of our food choices in building a more sustainable future.
Contribute to the Community Cookbook
Are you interested in sharing your climate-friendly food habits to help your community eat more sustainably? Consider contributing to the A²ZERO Community Cookbook by submitting a recipe, sharing a climate-friendly food tip, or nominating a community food leader to have their story featured in the cookbook! See below for details on how to contribute in each of these ways.
Submit a recipe
Do you enjoy cooking from scratch with local, seasonal ingredients, have creative ways of using up food scraps, or have a tasty plant-based recipe you love? Submit a recipe for consideration for the A²ZERO Community Cookbook!
We welcome submissions from anyone in the Ann Arbor community, regardless of sustainability background or cooking experience. We are especially interested in recipes that:
- Are plant-based or plant-forward.
- Utilize strategies to prevent food waste (such as using parts of foods that are typically discarded, repurposing leftovers, preserving food, etc.).
- Feature fresh, seasonal ingredients available from local sources (farms, markets, home gardens, forage).
- Are delicious, nourishing, and affordable.
- Are beginner-cook friendly (in cooking techniques and equipment required).
We do not expect any single recipe to meet all of these desired qualities, but we encourage you to think creatively about how you can make your recipe as sustainable as possible!
All recipe submissions should include the following:
- A title of the recipe.
- Your name & contact information.
- 1-3 sentence description of the dish in your own words.
- An ingredient list with exact measurements (e.g. 1 tsp, 1 cup) or container sizes (e.g., 16 oz can, 24 oz box).
- Step-by-step directions for how to prepare the dish, including cooking temperatures and times.
- Number of servings the dish makes.
- Approximate preparation time.
In addition to the required information noted above, applicants are encouraged to include:
- A personal story associated with the dish (e.g. Was the dish passed down through your family? Connected to a piece of local history? Do you make it for a special occasion? Is the dish culturally significant?).
- Up to 4 photos (e.g., photos of the dish, photos of you preparing the dish, photos of the dish at a family gathering, etc.). Photos should be well-lit with no personal details or information in the background.
- Creative sustainability tips (e.g., plant-based substitutions for recipe ingredients, how to use scraps or leftovers from this recipe, etc.).
Important Note: Submissions may not be directly copied from another source (such as a website or another cookbook).
The submission deadline is February 1st, 2025, at 11:59pm. Recipe authors will be required to sign a Recipe Release Agreement upon submission of their recipes.
Submit a sustainable food tip
Have you learned a tip or strategy that has helped you to eat more sustainably? Do you have a great way to fight food waste by using up food scraps or leftovers? An exciting plant-based substitution you have made in a recipe that you love? Successful strategies for using more local and in-season ingredients?
Share your tip so others in the community can use it too! Our community has accumulated a wealth of knowledge about how to eat more sustainably, and we can all benefit from sharing the tips and tricks we have learned with each other. Click the link below to share your tip!
The submission deadline is February 1st, 2025, at 11:59pm.
Nominate a community food leader to be featured in the Community Cookbook
Do you know of an organization, business, farm, or individual in the local food system that is implementing or promoting sustainable food practices? Nominate them to have their story included in the A²ZERO Community Cookbook! We aim to share stories about our local food system to build community and celebrate how Ann Arborites are already engaging in sustainable food practices. Click the link below to submit your nomination for a featured community food leader!
The submission deadline is February 1st, 2025, at 11:59pm.
Questions?
Contact InfoAzella Markgraf
Sustainability Coordinator - Food, OSI
Email Azella
