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Food InsecurityNCT07770490

Pediatric Food is Medicine Study

A study testing Delivered Produce Prescription and Delivered Healthy Meal Kit in people with Food Insecurity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Children, run by State University of New York at Buffalo at 1 site in United States.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how to increase the usage and acceptability of Food Is Medicine programs among families with young children experiencing food insecurity who receive Medicaid benefits. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
Delivered Produce Prescription and Delivered Healthy Meal Kit
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
225 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
23 Jul 2026to 31 Dec 2029
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • parent or primary caregiver of a child aged 2-6
  • child must receive Medicaid benefits
  • child must receive pediatric care at one of the study's 3 pediatric practice partners
  • participant must screen positive for food insecurity using the two-item food security measures on NYS Medicaid Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Health-Related Social Needs Screening Tool): 1.) Within the past 12 months, you worried that your food would run out before you got money to buy more (Often true, Sometimes true, Never true), and 2.) Within the past 12 months, the food you bought just didn't last and you didn't have money to get more (Often true, Sometimes true, Never true).
  • participant must be responsible for at least 50% of the household food shopping
  • participant must be able to store and prepare food in their home

Who cannot join

  • families with severe food allergies
  • parents who report their child aged 2-6 is diagnosed with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD), or dysphagia
  • parents who report their child aged 2-6 is diagnosed with any conditions they feel would limit their child's eating/feeding to the point they are unable to participate in this study
  • individuals who do not speak English or Spanish fluently
  • households receiving nutrition services through NYS Medicaid 1115 waiver or similar free programs providing produce prescriptions or meal kits will be excluded until these free nutrition services end as these services would be duplicative of the interventions offered through this study

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Lucia Leone, PhD contact

716-829-6953

lucialeo@buffalo.edu

United States1 site, 1 recruiting
  • University at Buffalo

    Buffalo, New York, 14214-8001

    Anne Lally Mathiebe, PhD, 716-829-5436, annelall@buffalo.edu

    Recruiting

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Comparative Effectiveness of Food Prescription Programs for Food Insecure Families With Young Children

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how to increase the usage and acceptability of Food Is Medicine programs among families with young children experiencing food insecurity who receive Medicaid benefits. Food Is Medicine programs connect food and nutrition programs to the healthcare system to address health issues. Food Is Medicine programs include food prescription programs that are recommended to patients by healthcare providers. These programs are designed to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables people eat to improve their health. The program described here works with pediatric practices serving a high Medicaid population in Buffalo, NY to recruit families with children aged 2-6 who are experiencing food insecurity-not having reliable access to the food they need. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • What food prescription program is used most completely and consistently by food insecure families with children aged 2-6?
  • How do the programs being tested impact the amount of fruits and vegetables children eat and the household's food and nutrition security status?
Read more

Researchers will compare 2 experimental delivery Food Is Medicine programs, a meal kit program and a produce prescription program, to each other and a standard of care mobile market voucher program to understand which program works the best for families with young children.

Participants will:

  • Receive 1 of 3 food prescription programs for 24 weeks (6 months)
  • Complete a short survey at different times throughout the program reporting how much of the food in the food prescription their family ate and why they didn't eat it all (if applicable).
  • Complete a phone survey about their family, their eating and shopping habits, and other health questions before they start the program, at the end of the program, and 6 months after the program ended.
  • Complete an online diet recall survey recording what their child aged 2-6 ate for a 24-hour period before they start the program, at the end of the program, and 6 months after the program ended.
Read the detailed description

In the U.S., 17.3% of families with children report food insecurity with even higher rates among lower-income families. Given the impacts of food insecurity on diet and health, a growing trend of "Food is Medicine" seeks to address health disparities through the integration of food and nutrition security initiatives into healthcare systems. The Food is Medicine (FIM) framework prioritizes nutrition security-access to high quality foods that promote well-being-to address health and healthcare-related outcomes across different populations. Several state Medicaid programs have begun funding FIM interventions, including food prescription programs (i.e., medically tailored groceries, produce prescriptions). Food prescriptions have the potential to manage and prevent diet-related health conditions, reduce healthcare utilization, and reduce food insecurity, however, poor usage threatens their effectiveness with prescription redemption rates as low as 9-18% in the literature. There is a need for rigorous research on usage and acceptability of food prescription interventions as a tool to reach the youngest populations at risk for food and nutrition insecurity. While food prescriptions may originate with a healthcare provider and be paid for by health insurance, the execution of these programs lies with community-based organizations and food retailers. This research addresses the urgent need for community organizations to understand how to increase utilization of food prescription programs among families with small children. The study employs a community-engaged approach to develop and test two innovative food prescription interventions among 225 Medicaid families with children (ages 2-6) who have screened positive for food insecurity at local pediatric clinics. This population has been chosen to match eligibility for a recently passed Medicaid food prescription program in New York state. Each family will be randomized to one of three study arms and provided a food prescription, focusing on fresh produce, weekly for 26 weeks. The usual care control arm will receive a mobile market-based produce prescription, and the two intervention arms will receive either a customizable box of fresh produce or a choice of meal kits (produce box with recipes and all the complementary ingredients to make 3 healthy meals with the produce), both delivered to their home. The research team will work with community partners who normally deliver FIM programs so that findings can be immediately applicable to FIM practitioners. Outcomes will focus on program utilization (enrollment, redemption, and food usage) for Aim 1 and fruit and vegetable consumption, diet quality, food and nutrition security and cooking self-efficacy for Aim 2. Aim 3 will qualitatively examine program implementation, secondary program impacts, and cost effectiveness. Together these aims will help understand how to address low utilization rates of food prescription programs with the goal of reducing food insecurity among families with young children.

Being tested
Delivered Produce Prescription, Delivered Healthy Meal Kit, Standard of Care Mobile Market Voucher
Keywords
Food Is Medicine, Produce Prescription

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Delivered Produce PrescriptionOther

    Participants will receive weekly home deliveries of fresh F\&V over 6 months (24 weeks). After enrollment, participants will be assigned a default box based on their family size. Box contents will change weekly based on seasonal availability and if a participant does nothing, they will receive a default box, but if they choose, they could customize their order to receive any variety of F\&Vs that they want (with the quantity staying consistent).

  • Delivered Healthy Meal KitOther

    Participants will receive 3 meal kits per week delivered to their home for 6 months (24 weeks). Meal kits include a recipe for a meal and all the ingredients needed to make it for the entire family. Recipes are reviewed by a dietician to align with dietary guidelines with a focus on kid-friendly options and seasonal produce. Meal kit recipes are paired with an instructional video from a local chef (sent via text or e-mail). At enrollment, participants will be assigned a default meal kit based on family size and diet (vegetarian or not). If they do nothing, participants will automatically receive the ingredients to make 3 default meals. If they choose, they can visit a webstore weekly and choose their meals from approximately 6 different weekly options. Meal options will repeat every 4 weeks to encourage repeated exposure to preferred F\&Vs and recipes. Participants will receive essential ingredients to be used across recipes upfront (e.g., olive oil, flour, spice).

  • Standard of Care Mobile Market VoucherOther

    Participants will receive a weekly credit to purchase produce from a mobile produce market at their clinic location (or any of 20+ mobile market locations in the region). The control arm is modeled after produce prescription programs already offered by our partners but augmented to match the prescription duration allowed by the NY Medicaid 1115 waiver (6 months). Massachusetts Avenue Project and UB Veggie Van will host weekly mobile markets at each of the three pediatric clinic locations. Similar to the Veggie Van model (see preliminary studies), participants who shop at the market will have the option to select a default box of produce based on family size or an equivalent number of individual items. The contents of the produce boxes will mirror the produce available in the intervention arms. Mobile market credits will automatically be added to accounts each week and will not carry-over.

Study groups in NCT07770490
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Delivered Produce PrescriptionExperimentalParticipants randomly assigned to receive the Delivered Produce Prescription intervention.
Receives: Other: Delivered Produce Prescription
Delivered Healthy Meal KitExperimentalParticipants randomly assigned to receive the Delivered Healthy Meal Kit intervention.
Receives: Other: Delivered Healthy Meal Kit
Standard of Care Mobile Market VoucherActive comparatorParticipants randomly assigned to receive the Standard of Care Mobile Market Voucher intervention.
Receives: Other: Standard of Care Mobile Market Voucher

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Produce Prescription Program Redemption

    Redemption will be measured as the percentage of all 24 potential deliveries or mobile market visits that are confirmed via a periodic text message survey sent to participants asking if they received their produce prescription that week. Self-report redemption data can be confirmed using delivery software data (experimental delivery arms) and mobile market point-of-sale software (standard of care mobile market voucher arm).

    Measured: From intervention start to one week after the end of the intervention period of 24 weeks.

  2. Child Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

    Child Fruit and Vegetable Consumption will be calculated using data from one parent-reported dietary recall for the reference child at each timepoint (baseline, 6-months, and 12-months) completed using the ASA24. The ASA24 is an online self-administered 24-hour recall program developed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The ASA24 produces individual-level food group estimates based on USDA's MyPlate Equivalents Database. MyPyramid cup equivalents as calculated by the ASA24 will be used to determine cups of F\&V.

    Measured: Completed at 3 timepoints: once after enrollment but prior to intervention start (baseline), once 6 months from baseline and 1-2 weeks prior to intervention end at 24 weeks, and once 12 months from baseline.

Secondary outcomes (4)
  1. Produce Prescription Program Enrollment

    Program enrollment will be measured as the percentage of patients eligible and referred that decide to enroll in each arm. Those who choose not to enroll will be asked to provide more information on why they do not want to enroll. This will help us understand what aspects of the programs appeal to or dissuade initial enrollment.

    Measured: Collected during study recruitment process.

  2. Produce Prescription Program Usage

    Usage will be self-reported via a periodic text message survey sent to participants. Surveys will ask participants approximately what percentage of the produce that they received was used by someone in their household: all (coded as 100%), most (coded as 75%), about half (coded as 50%), some (coded as 25%) and none (coded as 0%). Answers from all completed surveys over 6 months will be averaged to get a percent usage for each family.

    Measured: From intervention start to one week after the end of the intervention period of 24 weeks.

  3. Household Food Security

    Household Food is assessed with the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module and The USDA scoring system sums affirmative response to create a 0-10 scale and then categorizes respondents as high food security (0), marginal food security (1-2), low food security (3-5) and very low food security (6-10).

    Measured: Completed at 3 timepoints: once at enrollment but prior to intervention start (baseline), once 6 months from baseline and 1-2 weeks prior to intervention end at 24 weeks, and once 12 months from baseline.

  4. Household Nutrition Security

    Household Nutrition Security is assessed with the The Nutrition Security, Healthfulness Choice, and Dietary Choice Measure, which assesses the ability to obtain foods that meet nutritional/health needs and diet preferences, without resource limitation or worry.

    Measured: Completed at 3 timepoints: once at enrollment but prior to intervention start (baseline), once 6 months from baseline and 1-2 weeks prior to intervention end at 24 weeks, and once 12 months from baseline.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted18 Aug 2026
  2. Study start23 Jul 2026
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2029 (estimated)
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2029 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
225 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07770490
Sponsor's protocol ID
R01MD020348
Other IDs
R01MD020348
Status last verified
Aug 2026
First submitted
12 Aug 2026
Last updated
18 Aug 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: 1. Utilization Data (Participant Level): 1. Behavioral data that is observable by the research team (i.e., enrollment data) will be shared in aggregate for each study arm. 2. Self-report utilization data will be summarized at the participant level and integrated into the participant-level data set. 2. Parent-Reported Data (Baseline, 6 and 12 months): 1. Self-report survey data from consented participants includes participant demographics, psychosocial measures, parent fruit and vegetable intake, household food and nutrition security outcomes and intervention acceptability and usage data. All data will be de-identified prior sharing. Participant IDs will allow for matching with other data sources to create a participant-level data set. 2. ASA24 diet recall data reported for a reference child by the enrolled parent will be integrated into the participant-level data set as fruit and vegetable and calorie-related data. All other data available in aggregate upon request.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Delivered Produce Prescription and Delivered Healthy Meal Kit in people with Food Insecurity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Children, run by State University of New York at Buffalo at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Lucia Leone, PhD (716-829-6953, lucialeo@buffalo.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Produce Prescription Program Redemption (time frame: From intervention start to one week after the end of the intervention period of 24 weeks.). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Aug 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 30 Oct 2026.

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