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

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27 Grants found

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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   Colorado 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 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.

FFAR & WUR Launch Nature-Based Future Challenge

Year Awarded  2023

FFAR award amount   $255,001

Total award amount   $689,190

Location   Washington

Matching Funders   Wageningen University & Research (WUR)and the University Fund Wageningen

The Nature-based Future Student Challenges program trains students to develop nature-based solutions as a way to mitigate climate change effects in delta regions.

FFAR Grant Advances Equitable Food Access

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $1,000,000

Total award amount   $2,086,928

Location   Cleveland, OH

Matching Funders   Modeling the Future of Food in Your Neighborhood Study Partners

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is awarding an additional $1 million grant to Case Western Reserve University to build upon a 2018 Tipping Points grant by assessing efforts to improve food system equity through coordinated community-initiated engagement.

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

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $880,898

Total award amount   $1,798,114

Location   Claremont, CA

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   American Farmland Trust CA, City of Riverside, Climate Resolve, GRID Alternatives, Huerta del Valle, Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD), The Nature Conservancy, Pacific Biochar Benefit Corporation, Pitzer College, and Pomona College

Grantee Institution   Pitzer College

This research aims to understand the benefits of agrivoltaics—regenerative farming soil practices paired with solar energy production—on a local food system.

PIP Indoor Tomato Farming Project

Year Awarded  2022

Total award amount   $2,112,454

Location   Gainesville, FL

Matching Funders   AeroFarms, BASF, Fluence by OSRAM, GreenVenus, Priva

Controlled environment agriculture is a promising opportunity to sustain and develop our food systems despite climate change. Yet, there is still limited knowledge of the conditions popular crops need to thrive indoors. Controlled environment agriculture’s potential is also hampered by scientists’ lack of understanding of genetic advantages that can smooth a crop’s transition to indoor farming. University of Florida researchers are defining and enhancing the physical and genetic traits in tomatoes that affect flavor and that can make them suitable for controlled environments.

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

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $308,171

Total award amount   $616,378

Location   Knoxville, TN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Metro Nashville, Resource Capture, UT and Urban Green Lab

UT researchers are developing a Decision Support System (DSS), which will enable partners, city planners and community leaders to determine best options for identifying and scaling food waste redirection, composting and use of compost using a model that can be easily applied to other cities.

FFAR Grant Addresses Food Waste Reduction Challenges

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $308,171

Total award amount   $616,378

Location   Knoxville, TN

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Metro Nashville, Resource Capture, University of Tennessee, and Urban Green Lab

Nearly one-third of landfill waste consists of food waste matter that could be redirected to alternative waste reduction methods, such as composting. However, addressing food waste reduction presents communities, especially cities, with significant challenges related to policy, technology and cost-effectiveness. The University of Tennessee (UT) will develop and execute a food waste Decision Support System (DSS), enabling city planners to easily evaluate innovative waste reduction solutions and technologies.

SKY HIGH Consortium Agreement

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $1,061,576

Total award amount   $6,630,342

Location   Wageningen, The Netherlands

Matching Funders   Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, Bayer, Bosman Van Zaal, Certhon, Dutch Research Council (NWO), Fresh Forward, Grodan, GrowX, Own Greens, Signify, Solynta, Unilever, Van Bergen Kolpa Architects

Vertical farming provides greater control of climate and nutrition conditions than outdoor or greenhouse facilities. Crops grown in vertical farming environments have the potential for enhanced nutritional value, longer shelf life, better taste and a shorter supply chain – plus they require little water and do not need pesticides. Yet, there are few researchers adapting crops to make them economical and sustainable in these production systems. SKY HIGH: Vertical Farming, a revolution in plant production, is a program to advance vertical farming by researching plant genetics and indoor growing conditions that help crops thrive and enhance desired qualities.

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

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $99,230

Total award amount   $99,230

Location   Flint, MI

Program   Tipping Points

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is highlighting food system deficiencies. Producers are struggling to reach consumers due to concerns with processing, distribution and demand. We provided supplemental funding to the Michigan State University research team investigating how emergency food programs, including food banks, schools and Meals on Wheels, intersect with the retail sector.