CSIT Awards Grants to Startups Aiming to Strengthen Food Security Efforts

On Jan 6, 2025

The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) awarded over $500,000 in funding to seven New Jersey startups under the Food and Agriculture Research & Development Pilot Seed Grant Program. The funding will support startup companies in the development of commercially viable technologies that combat food insecurity, helping to increase access to nutritious foods and alleviate food deserts.

“CSIT continues to provide robust support to early-stage startups in New Jersey, creating an unrivaled innovation ecosystem that strengthens the state’s economic competitiveness,” said CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft. “The grant awardees announced today are developing technologies and products that will promote New Jersey’s food security initiatives, keeping the state at the forefront of innovation.”

“Under Governor Phil Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey’s startup companies are developing important technologies that exemplify the state’s position as a national leader in innovation,” said New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “The ingenuity of the state’s entrepreneurs compliments the food security efforts of the NJEDA, supporting innovative solutions to eradicate food deserts and increase access to healthy, affordable food.”

The Food and Agriculture Research & Development Pilot Seed Grant Program supports the development of technology and other solutions to address food insecurity in New Jersey. Awardees are developing new technologies in target areas including agricultural innovation and pesticide efficiency.

“Congratulations to the seven grant awardees,” said CSIT Chair and BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart. “Through initiatives such as the Food and Agriculture Research & Development Pilot Seed Grant Program, CSIT is proud to play a pivotal role in supporting early-stage start-ups in New Jersey, cultivating a vibrant innovation ecosystem that fuels economic growth and competitiveness. We commend these companies for their work in developing potentially groundbreaking technologies and innovative solutions to address food insecurity and related issues across the State and that could become solutions for the world.”

The awardees are:

1. AGEless Biotechnologies (Bergen County): Developing applications for a multi-functional protein modification platform, which offers functional improvements to various protein-based products in the biomedical and food sectors.
2. Fork & Goode, Inc. (Hudson County): Creates cultivated pork by using a patented process that maximizes yield.
3. Gather Agriculture, Inc. (Hudson County): Develops food resiliency on farms by building simplified robotic tools for farms and farmworkers to increase harvest efficiency and farmworker safety.
4. Hydronos Labs LLC (Mercer County): Developing and providing a key structured data layer for the global weather and climate risk transfer market via its TerraCognos software platform, which uses the complementary strengths of satellite observations, ground-based sensor networks, computational climate reanalysis, advanced hydrologic modeling, and short-term to seasonal weather forecasting.
5. Inspired Growing, Inc. (Hudson County): Harnesses cutting-edge indoor vertical farming technology to directly combat food insecurity in New Jersey while fostering healthy eating habits.
6. Mycsology Foods Inc. (Mercer County): Developing a solid-state fermentation technology platform to produce nutrient-dense, high-protein ingredients, unlocking previously indigestible and inaccessible nutrients from legumes and grains to create sustainable ingredients and foods.
7. Neoventech LLC (Mercer County): Improving pesticide application efficiency to ensure more effective pest control, leading to increased crop and fruit yields, increased overall food availability, and reduced risk of shortages.

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