N/A Completed N=127 Randomized Prevention

A Mobile Application to Improve Procurement and Distribution of Healthful Foods & Beverages in Baltimore City

Obesity

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05010018 ↗

Enrolled (actual)

127

Serious AEs

0.0%

Results posted

Jan 2026

Primary outcomePrimary: Change in Stocking of Healthy Foods as Assessed by a Store Impact Questionnaire — -9.5; -2.2 score on a scale — p=0.22

Summary

Low-income urban communities have many small food stores, but poor access to healthier foods and beverages. The investigators will develop, implement and evaluate the feasibility of a Baltimore Urban food Distribution (BUD) web-based application (app) to improve access to affordable, healthier products from local producers/wholesalers in 38 urban corner stores in low-income Baltimore neighborhoods, using a randomized controlled trial design and assess its impact on store stocking and sales. The R34 will provide a developed and tested version of the BUD app, which will resolve challenges related to affordability and delivery of healthful foods and beverages to small food stores, permit development of new instruments, assess potential impacts at the consumer level, permitting power and sample size estimates for the full-scale clinical trial, and demonstrate the investigators' ability to recruit and retain large numbers of wholesalers, producers, and corner stores in low-income urban settings.

Outcome Measures

Outcome	Result	p-value
PRIMARY Change in Stocking of Healthy Foods as Assessed by a Store Impact Questionnaire	-9.5; -2.2	0.22
PRIMARY Change in Sale of Healthy Foods	-0.03; 0.50	—
SECONDARY Change in Purchasing of Healthy Foods by Consumers	—	—
SECONDARY Change in Consumption of Healthy Eating Index by Consumers	—	—
SECONDARY Estimated Changes (Reduction) in Operating Costs	4.00; 3.00	—
SECONDARY Estimated Changes (Savings) in Acquisition Prices	3.8; 5.0	—
SECONDARY Estimated Total Financial Expenses	3.6; 5.0	—
SECONDARY Changes in Prices of Healthy Foods	3.6; 2.0	—
SECONDARY Change in Feasibility Metrics: App Satisfaction, Acceptability, Operability, and Perceived Sustainability as Assessed by Survey	-0.133; 1.667	—
SECONDARY Process Metrics: Reach as Assessed by Intervention Corner-store Owners Who Participate in the Trial	4; 0	—
SECONDARY Process Metrics: Dose Delivered	—	—
SECONDARY Process Metrics: Fidelity	—	—

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Inclusion criteria for stores:

Store owner/manager willing and able to order food through a smart phone or other internet-enabled device

Store owner/manager willing to attend in-store trainings in the use of the BUD App

Store located in a low-income neighborhood considered as a Healthy Food Priority Area by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future111 in East Baltimore

Store located >0.25 miles from a supermarket

Store classified as a small food store (< 4 aisles, < 2 cash registers)

Store owner/manager is English, Korean, Spanish or Mandarin-speaking for first language

Inclusion criteria for wholesalers and producers:

Provide service to Baltimore City (e.g., for producers, this could mean participating in Baltimore City-based farmers markets)

Willing to use the BUD app, including posting and maintaining data on a minimum number of products

Willing to participate with delivery services arranged

Inclusion criteria for consumers (community members):

Regular customers of the store (purchase food items at least once a week in the store) identified by the small food store owner/manager enrolled in the study
Adult (between 21 years old and 75 years old)
Live/work within a 1/2 mile radius from one of the 38 small food stores participating in the study
Live in a household of at least 2 persons (criteria intended to provide a more stable sample, to reduce loss to follow-up)

Exclusion Criteria

Anticipate moving out of Baltimore City in the next 12 months
Pregnant (due to changes in diet, weight and body composition)

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05010018). 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. Informational only — not medical advice.