October 29, 2025
Statewide effort to put more whole grains on shelves and plates gets $19 million boost
A worker at WSU’s BreadLab shapes dough into a loaf. Credit: Washington State University
A statewide initiative to put more healthy, climate-friendly grains on people’s plates has received a $19 million boost, which will sustain every step in building a network from the field to the fork.
The initiative, a public-private partnership led by Washington State University with support from the University of Washington, received a $10 million BioInnovation Grant from the Washington Research Foundation and matching funds from several other organizations, including more than $3 million from the Washington Grain Commission.
It targets a global health problem: the lack of whole grains in people’s diets, which contributes to widespread health problems.
The funding will allow WSU researchers to continue developing new crop varieties for farmers. It will fuel efforts to bring more whole grains to the public, including into school lunchrooms and will expand Washington state’s commercial infrastructure for storing, transporting, milling and marketing whole grains. The funding will also support the establishment of a commercial kitchen at the UW to help entrepreneurs bring whole-grain foods to market.
“This work is about making sure that nutritious grains reach the people who need them,” said Jennifer Otten, a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW. “By understanding the policies, systems, and human decisions that shape food production and the supply chain for school meals, we can help bridge the gap between innovation and impact.”
Two teams of UW researchers will contribute to this effort.
Juming Tang, professor of industrial & systems engineering and of mechanical engineering at the UW, will help lead development of ready-to-eat meals and will support private organizations using UW facilities to produce sample meals for school breakfast and lunch.
The UW’s implementation science team, which includes Otten, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences Sarah Collier, and assistant professor of epidemiology Marie Spiker, will examine how innovations in grain breeding and food product development can be successfully adopted in school settings. They will study what policy, budgetary, and social factors help ensure that new whole grain and legume varieties are embraced across the supply chain and, ultimately, by school-aged children who rely on them for the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.
This team will also lead study-away programs, where students can learn about new whole grains and legumes in both urban and rural areas of Washington state. Curriculum from these five-week summer programs will be made publicly available.
“The timing of the grant is perfect,” said Kevin Murphy, a WSU professor of international seed and cropping systems and director of the WSU Breadlab, who will lead the grant work. “We’re right at the stage where we’ve got a critical mass of cross-disciplinary research, encompassing a range of agricultural, food and health sciences. Now we can start commercializing, getting these crop varieties to farmers, getting whole grains on our plates and into schools.”
The grant funding will be matched by contributions from the Washington Grain Commission, the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, the American Heart Association, The Land Institute, and food and technology companies.
“This is truly a historic investment for Washington farmers,” said Casey Chumrau, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission.
Adapted from a press release by Washington State University. For more information or to reach the project team, contact Alden Woods at acwoods@uw.edu or WSU’s Shawn Vestal at shawn.vestal@wsu.edu.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Epidemiology • Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering • Department of Mechanical Engineering • Jennifer Otten • Juming Tang • Marie Spiker • Sarah Collier • School of Public Health • Washington State University