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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05593510

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

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Diet, Healthy Food Security

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Crossroads Community Services

Dallas, Texas, 75236, United States

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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.

Treatment and study plan

No prep ready-to-eat meals

Behavioral

Pantry clients will select no prep ready-to-eat meals for up to 14-days' worth of meals for themselves and 2-members of their household using an online food selection platform. The food retailer supplying the meals produces over 70 meals. We have elected to study 14-days of meals to offer clients variety and determine which flavors are most desirable to clients. After ordering, meals will be retrieved from a refrigeration unit, boxed by pantry staff, and brought to the participant to take home. An example dinner is "Teriyaki Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli", and an example breakfast is "Omelet with Peppers and Zucchini". Meals can be stored in a refrigerator or freezer and eaten immediately or after reheating depending on the meal and consumer preference.

Ingredient bundles (e.g. meal kits)

Behavioral

Ingredient bundles will group individual meal ingredients (e.g., chicken, teriyaki, broccoli, potatoes) in a bag or box and pair those healthy food items with a recipe that instructs the client on how to make a healthier meal. Similar to the no prep ready-to-eat meal initiative, clients will select ingredient bundles for themselves and 2-members of their household using the food pantry online food selection platform. The ingredient bundles will closely replicate the no prep ready-to-eat meals.

Primary outcomes

  1. Hedonic Liking of Study Foods

    Time frame: 14-days

    Liking of study foods will be measured by showing the name and picture of the meal or ingredient bundle and asking participants to respond to a hedonic 9-point bipolar scale (this scale does not have an official name or title, therefore, 9-point hedonic liking scale can be considered the unabbreviated scale name). The scale has four measures of liking (6-9) and four measures of dislike (1-4) and a neutral "neither like nor dislike" (5). A higher score = more liking of the food. The average of all hedonic liking ratings for each meal was taken to create a hedonic liking score across meals.

  2. Satisfaction of Study Foods

    Time frame: 14-days

    Satisfaction items were adapted from previously validated food pantry client satisfaction surveys (e.g., "How satisfied are you with the amount/variety/frequency of food that you and others in your household receive at this food pantry?") (Dunmire M. Level of satisfaction among food pantry clients, staff/volunteers, and directors and its association with client choice in food pantry layouts. South Dakota State University; 2019.). Response options were "Strongly agree" "Agree" "Disagree" and "Strongly disagree". The items were summed to create an Intervention Satisfaction variable with the lowest possible score of 4 if all responses were "Strongly disagree" and the highest possible score of 20 if all responses were "Strongly agree."

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perceived Diet Quality

    Time frame: 14-days

    Perceived dietary quality will be measured using a single validated item that asks participants to rate their overall diet quality as "excellent," "very good," "good," "fair," or "poor" (5 = Excellent, 1 = Poor). Perceived diet quality is the scale title.

Other outcomes

  1. Fruit and Vegetable Frequency

    Time frame: 14-days

    Fruit & Vegetable Screener from the Eating at America's Table Study (EATS) - this is the measure title. Information on how to score the measure can be found at cancer.gov (https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/diet/screeners/fruitveg/instrument.html). The measure is cups of fruits and vegetables per day. A higher number is better.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Other

Registry information

Official study 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

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Oct 25, 2022
Registry last updated
Mar 11, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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