Clinical trial NCT05593510: Food Pantry Client and Staff Preferences for Nutritious no Prep Ready-to-eat Meals
Official title: Identifying Food Pantry Client and Staff Preferences for Nutritious no Prep Ready-to-eat Meals Versus Ingredient Bundles as an Effort to Increase Food Security, Improve Nutrition, and Promote Well-being
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Diet, Healthy
Food Security
Keywords: Food security
Food pantry
Diet quality
Intervention
Lead sponsor: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-10-25
Enrollment: 85
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: FACTORIAL
Intervention model description: Randomized repeated measures between-subjects design
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The specific aims of this pilot study are: Aim 1) To identify whether no prep ready to eat meals (intervention) or ingredient bundles (control) have higher client acceptability, liking, satisfaction, and perceived diet quality ratings. Aim 2) To identify whether no prep ready to eat meals (intervention) or ingredient bundles (control) have higher feasibility ratings with food pantry staff. Exploratory Aim) To identify whether no prep ready to meals (intervention) or ingredient bundles (control) lead to greater improvements in food security, perceived diet quality, and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Detailed description: To test the first hypothesis, we will use a randomized repeated measures between-subjects design with half of the participants randomized to receive 14-days of no prep ready-to-eat meals (intervention, n=35) and half of the participants randomized to receive 14-days of ingredient bundles (control, n=35). To test the second hypothesis, we will use a mixed-methods approach with food pantry staff (N=15), including questionnaires with fixed and open-ended items on feasibility and satisfaction of each distribution strategy followed by 30-minute semi-structured 1-1 interviews conducted by UT Southwestern study staff.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years of age or older;
* ability to read, write, and speak English or Spanish;
* ability to provide informed consent;
* current or new pantry user at our community partner;
* willing to participate;
* no dietary restrictions, allergies, or sensitivities that would put the participant at-risk of harm from consuming study foods.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Under 18 years of age;
* inability to read, write, and speak English or Spanish;
* unable to provide informed consent;
* not a pantry user at our community partner or uninterested in becoming a pantry user;
* not wanting to participate;
* dietary restrictions, allergies, or sensitivities that would put the participant at-risk of harm from consuming study foods.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Hedonic Liking of Study Foods
timeFrame: 14-days
measure: Satisfaction of Study Foods
timeFrame: 14-days
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Perceived Diet Quality
timeFrame: 14-days
Other outcomes:
measure: Fruit and Vegetable Frequency
timeFrame: 14-days
Locations:
city: Dallas
country: United States
facility: Crossroads Community Services
state: Texas
Study officials:
References:
citation: Hollis-Hansen K, Haskins C, Turcios J, Bowen ME, Leonard T, Lee M, Albin J, Wadkins-Chambers B, Thompson C, Hall T, Pruitt SL. A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing nutritious meal kits and no-prep meals to improve food security and diet quality among food pantry clients. BMC Public Health. 2023 Dec 1;23(1):2389. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-17355-3.