The Problem We Solve
FEAST Lab — Vision
Building a sustainable and nutritious future for all through circular food systems.
We are a transdisciplinary group of researchers working at the interface of science, engineering, and technology — addressing Hidden Hunger (micronutrient deficiency) through circular food systems innovation.
Our world, this beautiful blue planet produces enough food to nourish its entire population, yet nearly one-third is lost or wasted each year.
At the same time, over two million people suffer from hidden hunger caused by micronutrient deficiencies, contributing to the global double burden of malnutrition.
The FEAST Research Group develops sustainable food systems innovations to address these interconnected challenges and advance both food and nutrition security.
Fortification of foods with multiple micronutrients to address hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiencies).
Scaling-up strategies and designing nano-micro-macro scale encapsulation systems for micronutrient delivery.
Creating a circular economy by upcycling food loss/waste and recovering micronutrients from underutilized native plants.
All FEAST Lab research is centered on SDG 2 — Zero Hunger, working toward a world where everyone has access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food. Our work bridges cutting-edge food engineering with real-world impact in food and nutrition security across the USA, India, Canada, and Kenya.
Dr. Krishnaswamy has secured competitive funding from NSF, USDA, VentureWell, and industry partners to advance food systems innovation.
| # | Project Title | Sponsor | Role | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CAREER: FEAST (Food Ecosystems And circularity for Sustainable Transformation) framework to address Hidden Hunger | NSF CBET | PI | 2024/06/01 – 2029/05/31 |
| 2 | Seed Project: EcoTrast-GI: a food-based oral contrast agent for radiographic imaging of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (Parent Grant: ART: Technology, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Hub, $5,999,446) |
NSF TIP | Co-PI | 2024/02/01 – 2026/01/31 |
| 3 | SEP24 Women in Food Systems | USDA Foreign Ag Services | Co-PI | 2024/08/01 – 2026/07/31 |
| 4 | Seeding circular economy for upcycling food industry waste | USDA–NIFA–AFRI | PI | 2023/04/01 – 2025/03/31 |
| 5 | Moving American Elderberry into Mainstream Production and Processing | USDA–NIFA–SCRI | Co-PI | 2021/09/01 – 2026/08/31 |
| 6 | Food Innovations to address Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – Zero Hunger | VentureWell | PI | 2021/02/01 – 2024/08/31 |
| 7 | Super White Technology Scale-up | SuperSonic., LLC | PI | 2023/01/01 – 2023/12/31 |
| 8 | Rapid detection technologies and decision-support systems to mitigate food supply chain threats | NSF Convergence Accelerator Track J | Key Personnel | 2022/12/15 – 2023/11/30 |
| 9 | EcoTrast-GI: Food-based Eco-friendly Contrast for Radiographic Imaging of the GI Tract | MU Coulter Biomedical Accelerator | PI | 2019/07/26 – 2023/06/30 |
| 10 | Use of Invasive Species to Address Malnutrition | IFT | Co-PI | 2021/11/01 – 2023/03/31 |
| 11 | Developing Food Oases in the Urban Food Deserts with Smart Urban Grower Network | NSF–SCC–PG | Co-PI | 2020/10/01 – 2022/06/30 |
| 12 | Optimization of food process engineering parameters for shelf stable SOYLEIC™ milk, yogurt, tofu, and extruded okara products fortified with Vitamin B12 | Missouri Soybean Merchandise Council (MSMC) | PI | 2020/07/01 – 2022/06/30 |
| 13 | High Oleic Soy-based Instant Powder through Spray Drying: Value-Added Product | Missouri Soybean Merchandise Council | PI | 2019/01/07 – 2020/06/30 |
| 14 | Utilization of acid whey from Greek yogurt processing | Black & Veatch | PI | 2019/01/01 – 2019/07/30 |