N/A
N=235
A Trial of Behavioral Economic Interventions Among Food Pantry Clients
Food Preferences
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04011384 ↗Enrolled (actual)
235
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Feb 2024
Primary outcome: Primary: Mean Monthly Change in Number of Units of Healthier Foods — -1.32; 0.53 units of healthy food
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Behavioral economic intervention of online purchasing at a food pantry (Behavioral)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine
- Primary completion
- Dec 2022
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Mean Monthly Change in Number of Units of Healthier Foods |
-1.32; 0.53 | — |
| PRIMARY Mean Monthly Change in Number of Units of Less Healthy Foods |
0.20; -0.04 | — |
| SECONDARY Mean Monthly Change in Calories From Healthier Foods Per Shopping Trip |
-124; 31 | — |
| SECONDARY Mean Monthly Change in Calories From Less Healthy Foods Per Shopping Trip |
29; 14 | — |
| SECONDARY Self-reported Change in Fruit and Vegetable Intake |
-0.01; 0.08 | — |
| SECONDARY Biomarker Change in Fruit and Vegetable Intake |
11; 4 | — |
| SECONDARY Change in Body Mass Index (BMI) |
-0.11; -0.12 | — |
| SECONDARY Change in Systolic Blood Pressure |
5.3; 0.1 | — |
| SECONDARY Change in Diastolic Blood Pressure |
2.5; -0.3 | — |
Summary
Obesity, unhealthy dietary habits, and food insecurity are major public health concerns, especially affecting individuals living in poverty. Food pantries, which provide free food to those in need, are increasingly interested in promoting healthy choices, but few rigorous studies have tested healthy eating interventions in food pantry settings. The overall objective of this proposal is to conduct a randomized-controlled trial among 500 regular food pantry clients to compare the influence of a behavioral economic intervention to promote healthier food choices delivered via a web-based ordering platform to usual care (control group).
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- ≥18 years old
- primary grocery shopper for the family
- a regular in-person client at the food pantry (i.e., shops at pantry ≥ 1 per month)
- able to use the web-based touchscreen ordering system
- able to use a blood pressure cuff and scale provided to them for taking blood pressure and weight
- able to come outside their home for 5 minutes for the Veggie Meter measurement
Exclusion Criteria
- <18 years old
- not the primary grocery shopper for the family
- not a regular client at the food pantry (i.e., shops at pantry < 1 per month)
- not able to use the web-based touchscreen ordering system
- not able to use a blood pressure cuff and scale provided to them for taking blood pressure and weight
- not able to come outside their home for 5 minutes for the Veggie Meter measurement
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04011384). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.