Over 20,000 Ungraded Mini Tomatoes Transformed! Hotel Associa Toyohashi Launches Food Waste Reduction Project in Collaboration with Local Farmers, Contributing to Delicious and Sustainable SDGs

Dish made using ungraded mini tomatoes

Hotel Associa Toyohashi (Location: Hanadai-cho, Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture; General Manager: Masakazu Nakagawa) will launch a sustainable initiative aimed at reducing food waste and promoting local production for local consumption. From July 1, 2026 (Wed) to August 31, 2026 (Mon), in collaboration with Toyohashi-based tomato producer "Meguri Tomato Co., Ltd." (Location: Kojima-cho, Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director: Mitsuharu Ito), the hotel will serve special menu items featuring ungraded mini tomatoes at its on-site restaurants.

This project is expected to use approximately 220 kg (equivalent to about 20,000 mini tomatoes). By partnering with local farmers, the hotel aims to fully utilize ingredients carefully cultivated by producers, thereby reducing food waste and contributing to the realization of a circular regional society.

Reducing Food Waste in Partnership with Local Farmers

Agricultural products are often classified as ungraded and face difficulty entering the market due to variations in size or shape, even when their taste and quality are unaffected. However, such ungraded produce retains full culinary value and maintains its delicious flavor and nutritional content.

Through this initiative, ungraded mini tomatoes are being incorporated into the hotel's restaurant menus, creating a sustainable cycle that reduces disposal costs for producers while enabling the hotel to make effective use of ingredients. Guests can enjoy delicious local cuisine while directly experiencing efforts to reduce food waste.

Hotel Associa Toyohashi will continue to promote initiatives that make full use of food resources in collaboration with local farmers and the community, contributing to building a sustainable and vibrant local society.

About Meguri Tomato Co., Ltd.

"Uruoi" tomatoes cultivated by Meguri Tomato Co., Ltd.

Meguri Tomato Co., Ltd. was established in January 2017 (Heisei 29).

Operating under the philosophy "May happiness circulate for everyone," the company cultivates tomatoes in Toyohashi City with the goal of bringing smiles to everyone involved. Committed to maintaining quality while improving productivity, the farm continuously refines its cultivation techniques to deliver delicious tomatoes to more people.

Mitsuharu Ito, Representative Director, Meguri Tomato Co., Ltd.

Producer's Comment

Meguri Tomato Co., Ltd.

Representative Director, Mitsuharu Ito

At Meguri Tomato, we continuously strive to improve our cultivation techniques and quality control to consistently deliver delicious tomatoes to our customers. We are very pleased that Hotel Associa Toyohashi has agreed to use our ungraded tomatoes. We hope this initiative, which creates new value for tomatoes that are perfectly edible despite being ungraded, will contribute to reducing food waste and revitalizing our local community. Moving forward, we will continue working with the local community to produce safe, reliable, and delicious tomatoes.

Sample Menu Featuring Ungraded Tomatoes

Chilled Summer Vegetables with Tomato Jelly

Japanese Restaurant Hohonoha

Used as tomato jelly and diced tomatoes

・Chilled Summer Vegetables with Tomato Jelly

・Perilla Udon

・One-bite Tororo Soba

Fragrant Fried Chicken Thigh

Chinese Restaurant Rikei

Used as sauce

・Chili Prawn

・Fragrant Fried Chicken Thigh

・Shark Fin and Toyokawa-grown Wood Ear Mushroom Hot and Sour Soup

Farfalle with Tomato and Basil Pasta

Restaurant Roger

Used as sauce

・Farfalle with Tomato and Basil Pasta

※ As this initiative uses ungraded tomatoes, menu offerings may change or be discontinued during the period depending on harvest and delivery conditions.

Koji Morimoto, Executive Chef of Western Cuisine

Chef's Comment

Koji Morimoto, Executive Chef of Western Cuisine

The tomatoes used in our restaurant menus are those that do not meet market standards solely due to inconsistent sizing. Despite their irregular shapes, each tomato has a rich sweetness and aroma that truly shine when incorporated into dishes.

As chefs at a hotel, we believe it is essential to honor the ingredients carefully grown by producers, transforming them into delicious dishes without waste. We hope this initiative helps our guests experience sustainable food practices in an accessible way.

Initiatives Toward Achieving the SDGs

Our hotel is registered as a Toyohashi City SDGs Partner.

This initiative relates to the following SDG goals:

● 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

● 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

● 15: Life on Land

● 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Hotel Associa Toyohashi has previously implemented initiatives such as utilizing ungraded melons to make effective use of local resources. Moving forward, we will continue to contribute to building a sustainable local society through collaboration with regional businesses.

Hotel Associa Toyohashi

440-0075

Hanadai-cho Nishiyuku, Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture

URL: https://www.associa.com/tyh/

Tel: 0532-57-1010 (Main) Directly connected to JR and Meitetsu Toyohashi Station

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/associatoyohashi/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associatoyohashi/

LINE: https://lin.ee/jld2i26

※All photos shown are for illustrative purposes only.

※ As this initiative uses ungraded tomatoes, menu offerings may change or be discontinued during the period depending on harvest and delivery conditions.

[Directly Connected to Toyohashi Station] Hotel Associa Toyohashi