Process and Effect Evaluation of the Project Aan Tafel in 1,2,3 Euro

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this research project is to learn what the impact of the specific project Aan Tafel in 1 2 3 euro is on the food and meal habits of families of lower SES. Three types of studies will be conducted: WP1) Process evaluation via qualitative research: focus groups and/or individual interviews with participants of Aan Tafel in 1 2 3 euro, and with delegates of the social organizations; WP2) Effect evaluation via secondary data-analysis of purchase data retrieved from loyalty cards of participants, and of general customers (i.e., control group); WP3) Process and effect evaluation with a control group in a baseline-post design: the intervention group are participants of the program, and the control group are clients in social organizations, but do not participate in the program. On the one hand we want to find out if the intervention has an effect on specific determinants (i.e., food literacy, self-efficacy, attitudes, food security) of food behavior/meal prepping behavior and on meal structure of the family (i.e., amount of freshly made meals, amount of meals cooked and consumed together) (WP3), as well as on participants' food choices (WP2). On the other hand we want to find out how participans experience the program, what succes factors and barriers are, as well as how social organizations experience the program (as a partner of Colruyt, and contact person of the vulnerable families) (WP1).

Detailed Description
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Aan Tafel in 1 2 3 euro is a project of retailer Colruyt in cooperation with social organizations in Belgium. The project/intervention was launched in 2016 and has been implemented throughout Belgium since. In 2021 about 8000 families have already been subscribed, and the numbers are still growing. Families with a lower SES (vulnerable families) are informed by a social organization (OCMW, CAW, kind & gezin, etc.) and can voluntarily register for the project. When a family is registered, they receive a recipe booklet every two weeks at home. The booklet consists of six easy, child-friendly recipes with accompanying shopping lists. Recipes are targeted at three people and include fish, meat and veggie dishes. Each recipe is guaranteed to cost no more than one, two or three euros per serving. The participants are registered via the Xtra-card (loyalty card of Colruyt), so that the discount can be offered anonymously and discretely. Since the intervention is an already existing one, we made an overview of the intervention components, behavior change techniques and practical applications, based on the Intervention Mapping Theory (Kok et al., 2015) and the Behavior Change Wheel (Abraham & Michie, 2008). Based on this overview, we determined goals and outcome measures for our research project. In the qualitative study (WP1), participants of the intervention, as well as representatives of social organizations will be recruited to participate in an interview and/or focus group interview. Interviews will be conducted until data saturation is reached. In the interventional study (WP3), participants of the project (intervention condition) will be compared to participants in a control condition who do not participate in the project. A total sample size of 200 participants is calculated, based on an a priori power analysis (two groups, two measurements, α=0.05; power=0.80, ES=0.25). Participants in both conditions will complete a survey in a pre-measurement and a post-measurement, three months after the start of the intervention. The second effect study (WP2) has a longitudinal pre-post design, and is based on secondary purchase data from 2018 until 2022. The intervention group (i.e., participants of the intervention) will be compared to a control group (i.e., not subscribed in the intervention), by using general customer data. A multilevel growth model will be used to look at each individual's different purchase moments, with data before and during the intervention. The model represents three levels: 1) point of time/purchase, 2) customer, 3) store/location.

Official Title
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Supporting Healthy and Sustainable Family Meals Among Parents With Lower Socioeconomic Status: Process and Effect Evaluation of the Project Aan Tafel in 1,2,3 Euro

Conditions
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Consumer Behavior, Food Selection

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: The intervention Aan Tafel in 1, 2, 3 euro


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Be registered for the project Aan Tafel in 1-2-3 euro Be a member of a family with at least one child under the age of 18 living at home. Being Dutch-speaking: thorough knowledge of Dutch in terms of reading/writing/speaking. Be over 18 years old and (regularly) responsible for the preparation of the family meals

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: The intervention Aan Tafel in 1, 2, 3 euro<br>The participants use the intervention program: the recipe booklets and the provided price guarantee for their meals. | Behavioral: The intervention Aan Tafel in 1, 2, 3 euro<br>* The participants in this group are clients of Colruyt who are subscribed to the program Aan Tafel in 1 2 3 euro. They will receive two-weekly recipe booklets with 6 balanced and child-friendly recipes in each booklet. They are guaranteed a fixed price for each recipe, that will be given at the checkout counter, based on their loyalty card.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>The participants are not registered to use the program and will be recruited in social organizations to match their sociodemographic profile as much as possible. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Food literacy | Food Literacy will be assessed via the 11 item questionnaire of Begley et al. (2018). And via the 6-item subscale 'Food preparation skills' of the Self-Perceived Food Literacy (SPFL) scale of Poelman et al. (2018). | Change from baseline food literacy at 3 months | 
| Change in Self-efficacy for eating/cooking vegetables and fruits | Self-efficacy will be measured with the 4-item subscale of the survey of Condrasky et al. (2011) 3. Food security, measured with the questionnaire of Gulliford et al. (2006) | Change from baseline self-efficacy at 3 months | 
| Change in Cooking attitude | Cooking attitudes will be measured with the 4-item subscale of the survey of Condrasky et al. (2011) | Change from baseline attitudes at 3 months | 
| Change in Food security | Food security will be assessed via the 18 Household Food Security Survey (HFSS) items of Gulliford et al. (2006) | Change from baseline food security at 3 months | 
| Change in Family meal time frequency | Family meal time frequency will be measured with an item out of the questionnaire of Family meal time environment of Fulkerson et al. (2006) | Change from baseline meal time frequency at 3 months | 
| Change in Meal preparation | Meal preparation will be measured with an item out of the short questionnaire for assessing the impact of cooking skills interventions by Barton et al. (2011). | Change from baseline meal preparation at 3 months | 
| Change in food purchases (WP2) | Food categories such as vegetables, ready-to-eat meals and snacks | Change from amount of food purchases before the subscription into the project at the time after subscription | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Reported eating behavior | Specific food items related to mealtime are measured, based on the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. | Change from baseline reported eating behavior at 3 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Health promotion, Nutrition intervention, Socioeconomic status, Family meals, Parents