By JOHN REID BLACKWELL Richmond Times-Dispatch

Several startup companies that are part of the investment portfolio of NRV, a Richmond-based venture capital group, have taken steps to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

For instance, Shenandoah Valley Organic, a Harrisonburg-based company that sells organically raised chicken under the Farmer Focus brand name, has given each of its employees two packages of fresh chicken every week: one for the worker’s family and one for a family in need.

The company also started an #Grateful4Groceries campaign to encourage customers to thank workers who remain on the job providing food during the pandemic.

NRV, an investment group founded in 2011 by a team of Richmond business leaders, invests in early-stage, high-growth companies. NRV led a $15 million investment round in Shenandoah Valley Organic late last year.

Another Virginia startup that got an investment from NRV last year, Norfolk-based Ario Technologies Inc., announced in April that it was offering services for free for 90 days.

The company develops augmented reality software tools, a technology that can be used in various environments such as manufacturing plants to enhance training, increase safety or improve production.

The company said it would offer its Ario Connect for free for several months because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We hope our video calling app utilizing AR can provide far-reaching benefits for people communicating, mentoring, or simply performing daily operations while working remote from home,” said Joe Weaver, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ario Technologies.

NRV also is an investor in Territory, a Northern Virginia-based company that delivers professionally prepared meals to its customers based on their dietary needs. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Territory has started Territory Serves, which allows its customers to donate meals to frontline healthcare workers.

Another NRV portfolio company, California-based Beanfields, a maker of vegan and gluten-free snacks, said it is partnering with an an organization of other companies called Founders Give to provide food products for healthcare workers.

ICX Media, a Washington-based technology and data analytics company that got an investment from NRV in 2017, is partnering with iHeartMedia and a number of other companies to launch Media Saving Lives, an initiative targeting Gen Z to help stop the spread of COVID-19.