Clinical trial NCT03566095: Voices for Food: Food Policy Councils, Food Security and Healthy Food Choices
Official title: Voices for Food: Utilizing Food Policy Councils to Bridge the Gap Between Food Security and Healthy Food Choices
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Food Security
Nutritive Value
Keywords: Rural
Food Policy Councils
Food Pantry
Community Coaching
Lead sponsor: South Dakota State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Michigan State University
name: Ohio State University
name: University of Nebraska Lincoln
name: Purdue University
name: University of Missouri-Columbia
First posted: 2018-06-21
Enrollment: 1735
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: All data were collected from both treatment an comparison communities at the same time points.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study evaluates the effectiveness of coaching and Voices for Food materials on establishing Food Policy Councils (FPCs) and using guided client choice in rural food pantries to improve food security and diet quality among food pantry clients, and to improve the food environment in rural, midwestern food pantries. Half of the communities received coaching and the Voices for Food kit, the other half only received the Voices for Food kit.

Detailed description: Community coaching is a a strategy that helps community leaders plan for and overcome challenges to community development. Interventions at the community level are most effective when they are conceived and led by locals. Community coaches can aid the local community in the development of FPCs in rural communities. FPCs have the potential to improve the nutritional quality of available food, and connect a diverse network of food system stakeholders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, which includes local food pantries. Food pantry users are food insecure and avoid hunger by consuming low cost and shelf stable food items. Guided client choice is a system of distribution that can be employed in food pantries and supported by FPCs. Guided client-choice is a model of distribution in which pantry clients choose the foods they would like from the pantry based upon family size and is formatted based upon USDA MyPlate. Guided client choice has been shown to meet the needs of the pantry client base better than the traditional model of distribution often found in food pantries. Food pantries have the opportunity to meet the nutritional needs of the food insecure population.

Voices for Food is a multi-leveled socio-ecological, longitudinal, matched treatment and comparison study to develop food policy councils (FPCs), and improve food security and diet quality in rural communities. Voices for Food was conducted in 24 rural, high poverty counties in South Dakota, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio. Counties were assigned to a treatment (n=12) or comparison (n=12) group.

Intervention activities focus on three key components that impact food security: 1) community coaching by Extension Educators/field staff, 2) FPC development, and 3) development of a MyChoice (guided client choice) food pantry. Community coaching, along with the Voices for Food kit was only provided to treatment counties. Comparison communities only received the Voices for Food kit. Evaluation components focus on three levels of the intervention: 1) Community (FPCs), 2) Food Pantry Organization and Food Environment, and 3) Pantry Client \& Families. Participants in this study were community stakeholders, food pantry directors, staff/volunteers and food pantry clients. Pantry food access/availability including pantry food quality and quantity, household food security and pantry client dietary intake are dependent variables.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Food Pantry Clients must be current clientele by visiting the participating food pantry at least once in the last year, English-speaking.
* Food Pantry Directors must be 18 years or older (19 if in Nebraska), English-speaking and a director of a participating food pantry.
* Food Pantry Staff/Volunteers must be 18 years or older (19 if in Nebraska), English-speaking and a staff/volunteer of a participating food pantry.
* Community Stakeholders must be 18 years or older (19 if in Nebraska), English-speaking and reside in the participating community.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Under 18 years old (19 if in Nebraska)
* Non English- speaking

Primary outcomes:
measure: The United States Household Food Security Survey Module
timeFrame: 4 years
measure: Healthy Eating Index (HEI) Score
timeFrame: 4 years
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Food Policy Council Implementation Form
timeFrame: 4 years
measure: Food Pantry MyChoice Observation Tool
timeFrame: 4 years
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: South Dakota State University
name: Suzanne Stluka, PhD, RD, LN
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Purdue University
name: Heather Eicher- Miller, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Michigan State University
name: Rebecca Henne, MS
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia
name: Donna Mehrle, MPH, RD, LD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Nebraska Lincoln
name: Lisa Franzen-Castle, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Ohio State University
name: Dan Remley, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Wright BN, Vasquez-Mejia CM, Guenther PM, McCormack L, Stluka S, Franzen-Castle L, Henne B, Mehrle D, Remley D, Eicher-Miller HA. Fruit and Vegetable Healthy Eating Index Component Scores of Distributed Food Bags Were Positively Associated with Client Diet Scores in a Sample of Rural, Midwestern Food Pantries. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2021 Jan;121(1):74-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2020.09.033. Epub 2020 Oct 21.
citation: Wright BN, Tooze JA, Bailey RL, Liu Y, Rivera RL, McCormack L, Stluka S, Franzen-Castle L, Henne B, Mehrle D, Remley D, Eicher-Miller HA. Dietary Quality and Usual Intake of Underconsumed Nutrients and Related Food Groups Differ by Food Security Status for Rural, Midwestern Food Pantry Clients. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2020 Sep;120(9):1457-1468. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2020.04.011. Epub 2020 Jul 20.
citation: Liu Y, Tooze JA, Zhang Y, Leidy HJ, Bailey RL, Wright B, Ma M, Stluka S, Remley DT, McCormack LA, Franzen-Castle L, Henne R, Mehrle D, Eicher-Miller HA. Breakfast Consumption Is Positively Associated with Usual Nutrient Intakes among Food Pantry Clients Living in Rural Communities. J Nutr. 2020 Mar 1;150(3):546-553. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz258.
citation: Stluka S, Moore L, Eicher-Miller HA, Franzen-Castle L, Henne B, Mehrle D, Remley D, McCormack L. Voices for food: methodologies for implementing a multi-state community-based intervention in rural, high poverty communities. BMC Public Health. 2018 Aug 23;18(1):1055. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5957-9.