Bolstering Healthy Food Systems

Our Food Systems research promotes the availability of nutritious foods, improves human health, develops novel food processes and products and advances the U.S. food system’s functionality.
Our Food Systems research promotes the availability of nutritious foods, improves human health, develops novel food processes and products and advances the U.S. food system’s functionality.

Contact Information:

science@foundationfar.org

Partnerships & Development Contact:

Carmen Ruiz
cruiz@foundationfar.org

Open Opportunities

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Prioritizing Healthy Food System Research

Food systems have a significant impact on human health, the environment and the economy and are both impacted and affected by climate change. In a healthy food system, food processors, producers, distributors and retailers have the information and technologies needed to produce nutritious, environmentally sustainable and culturally appropriate food for consumers.

Our Healthy Food System Priority Area research develops scientific solutions to these challenges. Our research takes a systems-level approach to:

  • promote the availability of nutritious, quality foods to diverse populations;
  • bolster human health and nutrition outcomes;
  • improve food safety;
  • reduce loss and waste;
  • develop novel processes and products;
  • increase understanding of social and cultural dimensions of food security and nutrition, and;
  • advance the overall functionality of the food system.

Food Systems Research Themes:

The Healthy Food System research focuses on the following themes to achieve critical impacts:

Optimizing Health & Nutrition

Advancing novel foods, food products and systems-level approaches to enhance human health and nutrition.

Food Manufacturing & Processing

Enhancing the efficient and sustainable production and delivery of nutritious and safe-to-eat foods.

Environmental Contaminants & Pollutants

Mitigating the impacts of environmental contaminants on food and health, while reducing food system contaminants and increases human health resilience.

Economic Viability & Bioeconomy

Promoting a sustainable bioeconomy in which products are affordable for consumers and profitable for stakeholders.

Food Systems Consortia

Precision Indoor Plants

Precision Indoor Plants (PIP), a public-private partnership, helps food producers grow flavorful, nutritious food indoors. The consortium’s audacious research increases our ability to produce quality crops that are valuable and desired by consumers.

Innovation in Post-Harvest Loss & Food Waste Reduction Consortium

The Consortium for Innovation in Post-Harvest Loss & Food Waste Reduction is a team of global experts that aim to preserve nutrients, improve livelihoods and realize an efficient food system.

Food Systems Grant Programs

Raw Organic Amaranth Grain In A Bowl With Wooden Spoon

Harvest for Health

The Harvest for Health Challenge aims to accelerate development of underutilized crops.

Pigs on a swine farm

Improving Swine Production Air Quality

Working to improve air quality on pig farms and address the Health-Agriculture Nexus

Man planting a seed in a field

Seeding Solutions

Seeding Solutions is our annual grant program that funds research pioneering science in each of our Research Priorities. We specifically support projects that convene unique partners from across the food and agriculture sector to solve bold challenges.

Transporting carrots in a truck.

Tipping Points

The Tipping Points program funds research to understand various aspects of local food systems using quantitative modeling. Understanding how these factors interact informs the best use of limited investments to improve health and economic outcomes in these communities.

Aerial view of a sprawling solar farm alongside wind turbines in a green landscape

Greenhouses in Transition

Greenhouses in Transition focuses on collaborations between sectors within the food-energy-water nexus that enable increased regional sustainability of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) sector.

Two scientists analyzing vegetables

USDA-FFAR Innovation Challenge

Food Systems Grants

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

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)

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

See all Food Systems Awarded Grants

The Latest

Insights

Our Insights highlight unique perspectives from across the food and agriculture community.

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Illuminating Pest Management with the Help of the Washington State Wine Commission 

Alexa McDaniel

FFAR Fellow, Washington State University

National Nutrition Month: FFAR’s Bold Solutions Addressing Food Insecurity 

Headshot of CGEWA member.

Dr. Constance Gewa

Senior Program Director

Engineering Beneficial Bacteria to Improve Human Health 

FFAR Fellow, Echo Pan

The Map of Food: Why We Need a World Atlas of What We Eat 

Nancy Brown

Every Day is Indigenous Peoples’ Day 

Dr. Kim Paul, Dr. Kristin Ruppel

Founder of the Piikani Lodge Health InstituteProfessor of Native American Studies in the College of Letters and Science and director of MSU’s Native Land Project

PIP is Pioneering Indoor Agriculture Collaborations 

Portrait of John Reich.

John Reich, Ph.D.

Scientific Program Director Bolstering Healthy Food Systems

Feedback Loops & Food Access 

Portrait of Gwen Donley.

Gwendolyn Donley

2019-2022 FFAR Fellow

News

The latest news and updates from FFAR.

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Funding Opportunity Drives Innovation & Commercialization in Sustainable Packaging for Specialty Crop Exports 

FFAR Grant to Improve Sorghum & Strengthen Nutritional Security 

Advancing Circular Bioeconomy with Biomass Feedstocks 

Student Teams Combat Climate Change 

FFAR & NWO Launch Greenhouses in Transition & Welcome Proposals 

FFAR Accepting Applications for Harvest for Health Breakthrough Crop Challenge 

FFAR Grant Unites Urban Agriculture Operations to Increase Food Security 

Researchers Investigate the Promise of Food Procurement 

Pairing Regenerative Farming and Solar Energy Production to Improve Urban Resilience 

FFAR Announces Harvest for Health Prize Criteria 

FFAR Grant Develops Premium Strawberry Flavors for Indoor Growing Environments 

FFAR Program Develops Underutilized Crops 

FFAR & Schmidt Futures Release Report to Advance a Circular U.S. Bioeconomy 

Grant Aims to Reduce Food Waste 

FFAR, NPB Seek to Improve Air Quality on Pig Farms 

FFAR & WUR Launch Nature-Based Future Challenge 

FFAR Grant Tackles Peanut Allergy 

FFAR Grant Advances Equitable Food Access 

FFAR Grant Addresses Food Waste Reduction Challenges 

FFAR-Funded Periodic Table of Food Initiative to Standardize Food Analysis 

Breakthroughs

Tools, technologies and strategies from the research we fund.

See all Breakthroughs

Loyalty Shopper Card Intervention Creates Behavior Change 

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

Increased Fiber, Same Great Taste 

Breakthrough for Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop

Connecting Growers & Markets 

Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Develops Tools to Predict Consumer Demand, Reduce Food Waste

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