Produce Prescriptions and Veggie Meter Scores for College Food Security

NCT07511699 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: Pro2026000603
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this pilot intervention study is to learn if providing weekly produce boxes helps college students who struggle to afford healthy food. It will also test if this program is practical to run on a college campus. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does receiving free produce boxes increase students' fruit and vegetable intake?
• Does the program improve students' food security and nutrient levels in the skin? Researchers will measure skin carotenoids (a marker of healthy eating) using a non-invasive finger scan called a Veggie Meter to see if the produce boxes improve nutrition biomarkers. Participants will:
• Receive one free box of fresh fruits and vegetables plus printed nutrition education materials every week for 8 weeks.
• Visit the campus site at the start, week 4 and end of the study \[week 8\] for a finger scan, measure their weight and to complete surveys.
• Provide feedback on their experience with the produce boxes and their food access.

Conditions

Food Insecurity; Carotenoid Status; Produce Prescription

Keywords

Food Insecurity; Produce Prescription; Skin Carotenoids; College Students; Veggie Meter

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Skin Carotenoid Score

  Skin carotenoid levels are measured using the Veggie Meter, a non-invasive device that utilizes reflection spectroscopy to provide an objective biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake. The Veggie Meter score is measured on a continuous scale ranging from 0 to 800 units. A higher score indicates a higher concentration of carotenoids in the skin, which serves as a proxy for increased consumption of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables. The study will evaluate the change in these scores to determine the impact of the produce box intervention.

  Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Food Insecurity Status

  Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

• Change in Self-Reported Daily Fruit and Vegetable Intake

  Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

• Change in Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS)

  Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Other Outcomes (1)

• Change in Subjective Well-Being (WHO-5)

  Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Study Arms (1)

Produce prescription arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive one produce box per week for 8 consecutive weeks plus printed nutrition information. Each box contains approximately $40 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables selected for their high carotenoid content and dependent on seasonal availability. To monitor biological changes and adherence, participants undergo non-invasive skin carotenoid measurements using a Veggie Meter and complete surveys at baseline (Week 0), midpoint (Week 4), and study completion (Week 8).

Other: Produce boxes

Interventions

Produce boxes OTHER

The Produce Prescription Program provides a weekly, box of fresh produce specifically curated for high carotenoid content (e.g., leafy greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes). Each box is accompanied by nutrition education materials, including seasonal recipes, storage tips, and preparation guides designed to increase participant food agency and cooking confidence. This intervention is distinguished by its focus on objective nutritional biomarkers; rather than relying solely on self-reported intake, the study utilizes reflection spectroscopy (Veggie Meter) to track changes in skin carotenoid levels at baseline (Week 0), midpoint (Week 4), and completion (Week 8). The contents of the boxes are seasonally dependent to ensure high nutrient density and to simulate a sustainable, real-world campus food-as-medicine model.

Produce prescription arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Must be a currently enrolled student at Rutgers Health.
• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Must be able to pick up a produce box weekly at the designated campus distribution site for 8 consecutive weeks.
• Must provide informed consent to participate in the study, including all data collection time points (Weeks 0, 4, and 8).

You may not qualify if:

• Not a currently enrolled student at Rutgers Health.
• Less than 18 years of age.
• Not able to pick up food weekly
• Not willing to go through study assessments.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey: lead

Study Sites (1)

Rutgers Health Food Pantry

Newark, New Jersey, 07107, United States

Location

Related Publications (9)

• Topp CW, Ostergaard SD, Sondergaard S, Bech P. The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: a systematic review of the literature. Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(3):167-76. doi: 10.1159/000376585. Epub 2015 Mar 28.

  PMID: 25831962 BACKGROUND

• Switkowski KM, Kronsteiner-Gicevic S, Rifas-Shiman SL, Lightdale JR, Oken E. Evaluation of the Prime Diet Quality Score from Early Childhood Through Mid-Adolescence. J Nutr. 2024 Jun;154(6):1890-1906. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.014. Epub 2024 Apr 16.

  PMID: 38614240 BACKGROUND

• Hager ER, Quigg AM, Black MM, Coleman SM, Heeren T, Rose-Jacobs R, Cook JT, Ettinger de Cuba SA, Casey PH, Chilton M, Cutts DB, Meyers AF, Frank DA. Development and validity of a 2-item screen to identify families at risk for food insecurity. Pediatrics. 2010 Jul;126(1):e26-32. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3146.

  PMID: 20595453 BACKGROUND

• Jilcott Pitts S, Moran NE, Laska MN, Wu Q, Harnack L, Moe S, Carr-Manthe P, Gates E, Chang J, Zaidi Y, Gelineau A, Berg L, Craft NE. Reflection Spectroscopy-Assessed Skin Carotenoids Are Sensitive to Change in Carotenoid Intake in a 6-Week Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample. J Nutr. 2023 Apr;153(4):1133-1142. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.017. Epub 2023 Feb 18.

  PMID: 36804322 BACKGROUND

• Radtke MD, Poe M, Stookey J, Jilcott Pitts S, Moran NE, Landry MJ, Rubin LP, Stage VC, Scherr RE. Recommendations for the Use of the Veggie Meter(R) for Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Measurements in the Research Setting. Curr Dev Nutr. 2021 Jul 29;5(8):nzab104. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzab104. eCollection 2021 Aug.

  PMID: 34476333 BACKGROUND

• Di Noia J, Gellermann W. Use of the Spectroscopy-Based Veggie Meter(R) to Objectively Assess Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Low-Income Adults. Nutrients. 2021 Jun 30;13(7):2270. doi: 10.3390/nu13072270.

  PMID: 34209048 BACKGROUND

• Slagel N, Newman T, Sanville L, Thompson JJ, Dallas J, Cotto-Rivera E, Lee JS. A Pilot Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) Program Improves Local Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Nutrition Knowledge, and Food Purchasing Practices. Health Promot Pract. 2023 Jan;24(1):62-69. doi: 10.1177/15248399211018169. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

  PMID: 34078142 BACKGROUND

• Sackey JD, Pike K, Rothpletz-Puglia P, Brody R, Touger-Decker R. Food Insecurity Among Health Sciences Graduate Students at a Large Northeastern University. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2021 May;53(5):428-433. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2020.11.003. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

  PMID: 33349595 BACKGROUND

• Goldman BJ, Freiria CN, Landry MJ, Arikawa AY, Wright L. Research trends and gaps concerning food insecurity in college students in the United States: a scoping review. J Am Coll Health. 2025 Oct;73(8):2960-2999. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2024.2351420. Epub 2024 Jun 13.

  PMID: 38870038 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Joachim D. Sackey, PhD

  Rutgers Health, Rutgers University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Joachim D Sackey, PhD

CONTACT

973-972-6245; joachim.sackey@rutgers.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 30, 2026
• First Posted: April 6, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 7, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

US (1)