A Trial of Traffic Light Labeling With Behavioral Nudges and a Healthy Recipe Database to Increase Selection of Healthier Foods in Client-choice Food Pantries

  • STATUS
    Recruiting
  • participants needed
    10
  • sponsor
    Massachusetts General Hospital
Updated on 19 February 2024

Summary

This study is a pilot evaluation of the Healthy Pantry Program, a new behavioral economics-based training that allows pantry staff to learn how to implement nudges integrating traffic-light nutrition labeling and a healthy recipe database in the pantry environment. The hypothesis is that participation the Healthy Pantry Program will lead to increases in pantry purchases of healthy foods.

Description

Food insecurity affects more than one in 10 Americans and is associated with poor nutrition and adverse health outcomes, including diabetes, hypertension, and mental health issues. Many food-insecure individuals use food pantries, which provide charitable food, to supplement household food needs. The emergence of client-choice food pantries, where individuals can select the foods they take home, provides a novel opportunity to intervene on the diets of food pantry clients.

This study evaluates the Healthy Pantry Program (HPP) in a sample of 10 food pantries in the greater Boston area. Pantries will be matched on baseline characteristics and randomized 1:1 into participation in HPP (intervention) or wait list (control). Outcomes data will be collected at the pantry and client level. The aims of the study are as follows:

Aim 1: To evaluate whether HPP is associated with increased healthy food purchases from the food bank by intervention food pantries compared to control food pantries.

Aim 2: To evaluate whether HPP is associated with increases in the availability of healthy food in intervention food pantries compared to control food pantries.

Aim 3: To evaluate whether HPP is associated with an increase in healthy food selection and dietary intake by clients of intervention food pantries compared to clients of control food pantries, using a cross-sectional sample of 400 food pantry clients at baseline and 400 food pantry clients at 6-month follow up.

Details
Condition Food Preferences
Age 18-100 years
Treatment Healthy Pantry Program, Waitlist Control
Clinical Study IdentifierNCT04243252
SponsorMassachusetts General Hospital
Last Modified on19 February 2024

Eligibility

Yes No Not Sure

Inclusion Criteria

maximum client-choice (clients can choose all items that they take from pantry)
operate at least once weekly
affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank

Exclusion Criteria

not affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank
operating less than once weekly
not a maximum client-choice food pantry
>1 hr drive from Boston
<50 clients on average per open day
Client Inclusion Criteria (for cross-sectional surveys at baseline and 6-month
follow up)
years old
pantry client
speaks English or Spanish
Client Exclusion Criteria
<18 years old
does not speak English or Spanish
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