Increasing Affordable Fruits and Vegetables for Families With Food Insecurity
ConditionDiet
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phasePhase 1
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age2-10
SponsorUniversity of South Carolina
About this trial
Investigator will test an intervention to increase use of a fruit and vegetable incentive program in South Carolina for families in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) experiencing food insecurity. Caregivers are randomized to an intervention or an education-only, wait-list control group. The investigators hypothesize the intervention will improve diet-related outcomes, above and beyond the education-only wait-list control.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Primary caregiver 18+ years of age
Has a child 2-10 years of age
Speaks English
Screens positive for food insecurity
Disqualifiers
Anticipate no longer being enrolled in SNAP during the study duration
Recent use of the SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive program
Caregiver or child has a medical condition that impacts their ability to eat fruits and vegetables
Caregiver or child has a significant food allergy, preference, or intolerance that impacts their ability to eat fruits and vegetables
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Veggie Vouchers
BehavioralCaregivers will receive brief education about a SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive program in South Carolina during their child's pediatrician visit. Following the visit, caregivers will receive a "free trial" of this SNAP program to encourage first-time use. After the free trial, caregivers can continue purchasing the same fruit and vegetable boxes at a steeply discounted price using their SNAP card. Free home delivery during the "free trial" and for all subsequent boxes purchased at a discounted rate will be offered during the full study duration.
Treatment groups
296 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Diet interventionExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Education-only wait-list controlNo intervention 0 interventions
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Child diet quality
Caregivers will complete a 3-day food record for their child's dietary intake. Child diet quality will then be assessed using the Healthy Eating Index.
Time frame
Baseline, 6, 18, and 30 weeksSecondary outcomes
1
Caregiver diet quality
Caregivers will complete a 3-day food record for their dietary intake. Caregiver diet quality will then be assessed using the Healthy Eating Index.
Time frame
Baseline, 6, 18, and 30 weeks2
Child Eating Behaviors
The Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire will be used to assess children's food fussiness. The food fussiness sub-scale consists of 5-pt Likert scale items ranging from Never (1) to Always (5). The mean of the response values is calculated. Higher score indicating a greater degree of food fussiness.
Time frame
Baseline, 6, 18, and 30 weeks3
Process metrics
Process metrics will examine the reach of families who received brief education during clinic visits at each site, utilization of the free trial, use of home delivery, and families who cycled off SNAP within the study duration (%, #, timing).
Time frame
Through study completion, an average of 3 years4
Intervention utilization
Semi-structured phone interviews and surveys will be administered to caregivers to elicit perceptions on intervention components, barriers/facilitators to intervention use, and suggestions for future dissemination.
Time frame
Through study completion, an average of 3 yearsSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
University of South Carolina
Lead sponsor
Virginia Commonwealth University
Collaborator
Cornell University
Collaborator
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov