Food Pantry Client and Staff Preferences for Nutritious no Prep Ready-to-eat Meals

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Food Security; Diet, Healthy

Treatments: Behavioral: Ingredient bundles (e.g. meal kits); Behavioral: No prep ready-to-eat meals

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05593510

STU-2022-0809

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full 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.

Enrollment: 85 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

85 participants in 3 patient groups

No prep ready-to-eat meals

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: No prep ready-to-eat meals

Ingredient bundles (e.g. meal kits)

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Ingredient bundles (e.g. meal kits)

Pantry Staff Group

No Intervention group

Description:

They participate in qualitative interviews only. No demographic or other identifiable information from them. They do not receive an intervention. No Intervention Group.