Awarded Grants
Below is a listing of our awarded grants that tackle big food and agriculture challenges.

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61 Grants found

Reducing Wheat Allergenicity: Paving the Way to Non-Allergenic Wheat

Exploring Novel Promoter Alleles for Multiple Vitamin Biofortification Using a Calli-Derived Somatic Embryo Platform

Developing Multifunctional & Durable Agro-based Food Packaging to Reduce Toxic Plastic Waste & Sustainably Advance a Bioeconomy

Water & Soil Sustainability for Nutritious Rice Production

Perennial Grain Staple Foods Program

Researchers Investigate the Promise of Food Procurement

Integrating Community and Modeling Efforts to Evaluate Impacts and Tradeoffs of Food System Interventions

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FFAR Grant Develops Premium Strawberry Flavors for Indoor Growing Environments

Uniting Urban Agriculture Operations to Increase Food Security

FFAR, NPB Seek to Improve Air Quality on Pig Farms, Indiana

FFAR, NPB Seek to Improve Air Quality on Pig Farms, South Dakota

FFAR & WUR Launch Nature-Based Future Challenge

FFAR Grant Advances Equitable Food Access

Urban farming at the Water, Food, Energy Nexus: soil health practices with agrivoltaic impacts on crops, soils, carbon, and water

PIP Indoor Tomato Farming Project

FFAR Research Tackles Peanut Allergy

University of Tennessee Receives FFAR Grant to Help Address Food Waste Challenges

FFAR Grant Addresses Food Waste Reduction Challenges

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Periodic Table of Food Initiative

Determining Environmental and Biological Conditions Influencing Lettuce Discoloration, Yield and Leaf Quality

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Rethinking seafood by-product: A path to provide sustainable nutrition and improve resource utilization

Finding the Proper Levers: Identifying Leverage Points for Tranformation in Urban Food Systems Through Participatory Modeling

Modeling the Future of Food in Your Neighborhood

Evaluating Food Access Strategies in Austin To Improve Healthy Food Consumption and Food Security

Integrating Community and Modeling Efforts to Evaluate Impacts and Tradeoffs of Food System Interventions 2020

Food and Agricultural Vulnerability Index

An Open Source Framework and Community for Sharing Data and Algorithms

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Open Market Consortium: Creating Economic Opportunities for Small and Mid-size Growers

FFAR Funds Novel Supply-Demand Technology, Connecting Institutional Buyers to Specialty Crop Farmers

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Enhancing Human Health and Nutrition from Soil to Society Using Quinoa as a Model Crop Species

Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop

A community-based microfarm aggregation model for transforming agricultural production and enhancing asset-based economic development in post-industrial urban areas

Integration of Small Farmers into Technology-enabled, Rapid-response Fresh Food Supply Chains

A Coupled Natural-Human System Approach to Solving Locust Plagues

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Blackfeet Innovation Pathways to Food Sovereignty: Sustainability through Indigenous Applied Research Partnerships

Employing Regional Produce Cooperatives to Enhance Household Nutrition and Reduce Food Insecurity

Environmental and Nutritional Benefits of Food Recovery and Redistribution: A Pilot Assessment in New York’s Capital Region

Reducing Food Waste by Reshaping Consumer Behavior Using Data-Informed, Dynamic Economic Incentives

Value-Added and Nutritionally Superior Extruded Foods from Agricultural Waste Streams

Using Eye Tracking to Better Understand Food Choices

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Towards Production of Residue-Free Healthy Fruit Crops

Modeling the Future of Food in Your Neighborhood

Innovations in the Food Supply Chain to Reduce Food Waste

Finding the Proper Levers: Identifying Leverage Points for Transformation in Urban Food Systems Through Participatory Modeling

Direct Linkage of Dietary Components with Metabolizers in the Microbiota

Closing the Gap in Delivery of Fruit and Vegetable Benefits

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Environmental and Nutritional Benefits of Food Recovery and Redistribution: A Pilot Assessment in New York’s Capital Region

Evaluating Food Access Strategies in Austin, Texas

Defining Stressors to Manage Plasticity & Quality in Leafy Greens

Fostering Innovative, Sustainable Urban Farming Methods to Meet Food Needs

Diet, the human gastrointestinal microbiome and metabolic health

Innovation at the Nexus of Computational, Membrane and Plant Biology

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A novel desiccant system enables energy-efficient drying to reduce postharvest loss of agricultural commodities and foods

Individually-targeted incentives, diet quality and health outcomes among adults

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Exploring Novel Promoter Alleles for Multiple Vitamin Biofortification Using a Calli-Derived Somatic Embryo Platform 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $448,852

Total award amount   $539,690

Location   Johnson City, TN

Matching Funders   East Tennessee State University

Grantee Institution   East Tennessee State University

While seeds are rich in energy sources, they lack many micronutrients, including multiple vitamins. Although seeds have the genetic potential to create vitamins, researchers struggle to increase seeds’ nutritional value because the synthesis of many vitamins in seeds are not active. Sun’s research is identifying DNA switches in seeds that, when activated, allow targeted gene editing to create biofortified seeds. Sun is also developing a speedier technique for screening DNA for these switches that avoids the time-consuming seed screening process.

Developing Multifunctional & Durable Agro-based Food Packaging to Reduce Toxic Plastic Waste & Sustainably Advance a Bioeconomy 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $445,585

Total award amount   $445,585

Location   Lubbock, TX

Grantee Institution   Texas Tech University

Single-use plastic packaging releases microplastics that pollute land and water and cause cancer and other illnesses. Plant-based, single-use food packaging are an alternative but this packaging is not as strong as plastic and is not as resistant to water and grease. Rajan’s research seeks to overcome these challenges by developing high performance, plant-based packaging. Using plant residue from agriculture production, Rajan is enhancing the durability, strength and processing ability of bio-based packaging.

Water & Soil Sustainability for Nutritious Rice Production 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $427,120

Total award amount   $427,120

Location   Oneonta, NY

Grantee Institution   State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta

As cultivable land faces growing pressure from soil degradation, salinity and a changing climate, rice is increasingly grown in suboptimal conditions, raising the risk of lower grain nutrition and increased arsenic and cadmium contamination. Maguffin’s team at SUNY Oneonta studies how irrigation practices shape redox dynamics in rice paddy soils, influencing nutrient availability and toxin mobility. Using controlled growth chambers, they simulate future climate scenarios to examine how irrigation, salinity and elevated carbon dioxide interact with pore water, soil and rice genetics. Their work supports sustainable practices that improve food safety and grain nutritional quality.

Perennial Grain Staple Foods Program 

Year Awarded  2024

FFAR award amount   $448,928

Total award amount   $657,514

Location   Salina, KS

Matching Funders   The Land Institute

Grantee Institution   The Land Institute

Perennial grains, which are planted once and harvested over several growing seasons, help preserve soil health and add variety to our food supply, decreasing risks from extreme weather, pests and pathogens. Craine and the Land Institute are working with stakeholders from local communities and industry, as well as farmers, chefs and consumers, to introduce perennial grains into our agricultural system. Research priorities include making grains edible, nutritious and appealing and building supply chains from farms to plates.

Researchers Investigate the Promise of Food Procurement 

Year Awarded  2023

FFAR award amount   $954,556

Total award amount   $2,023,732

Location   Fort Collins, CO

Program   Tipping Points

Matching Funders   Colorado State University, Cornell University, Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, NY Farm Viability Institute and The Rockefeller Foundation

Grantee Institution   Colarado State University

Building upon the Tipping Points research, researchers at Colorado State University aim to co-create a replicable and adaptable model that municipalities can use to guide food procurement decisions.

FFAR Grant to Improve Sorghum & Strengthen Nutritional Security 

Year Awarded  2023

FFAR award amount   $809,879

Total award amount   $1,619,758

Location   Entebbe, Uganda

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO)

Grantee Institution   National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)

Developing sorghum varieties with high iron and zinc in the grain for human consumption and reduced levels of hydrogen cyanide, an anti-nutrient, to increase the bioavailability of nutritious foods in the region.

FFAR Grant Develops Premium Strawberry Flavors for Indoor Growing Environments 

Year Awarded  2023

FFAR award amount   $1,800,000

Total award amount   $1,800,000

Location   Columbus, OH

Matching Funders   AeroFarms, BASF, Benson Hill, Fluence by OSRAM, GreenVenus and Priva

Grantee Institution   The Ohio State University

Researchers are identifying strawberry compounds that contribute to premium flavors and varieties that will thrive in controlled environment agriculture. Through innovative breeding techniques and advanced cultivation practices, the research team aims to unlock the full potential of strawberries in indoor farming, revolutionizing the crop variety landscape.