NSF funds fruit and vegetable preservation tech startup
Summary
The grant supports continuing research of a new process to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables without the use of chemicals, artificial preservatives, refrigeration or freezing. To be selected is an honor and a strong endorsement of our team, the novelty of our early technical work and its potential for commercialization.Farther Farms was founded in 2016 by Cornell students Annunziata and Vipul Saran, MPS 16. Such a breakthrough could be a major contributor to solving food system problems worldwide.NSF funding is intended to help small businesses transform promising high-impact technologies into marketable products and services. Receipt of this grant allows us to continue to build upon our successful fall 2017 seed fundraising round, creating value for our existing investor base and maintaining the rapid pace of our research, development and IP generation, said Saran, Farther Farms chief technology officer.Zach Koff 02, COO of Shake Shack and adviser to Farther Farms, has extensive experience balancing the logistics of food service operations with consumer demands. Farther Farms approach is a paradigm shift for food processing, and a game changer for how restaurant operators can fulfill the needs of their diners.Molly Israel is a marketing strategist at the Center for Regional Economic Advancement.