Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP) Study

NCT07729436 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: STU00221030K23HL173655
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will evaluate a digital nudge intervention, Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP), in the online food pantries of three large charitable food organizations. The study will use a hybrid effectiveness-implementation design, meaning it will evaluate whether the intervention works and how it can best be rolled out in an online food pantry setting. Intervention effectiveness will be evaluated using an interrupted time series analysis to identify changes in how healthy foods ordered by shoppers are (primary outcome) by comparing food ordering data over time before and after HOAP is introduced. The study will also evaluate the possibility of collecting dietary and clinical outcomes in a small subgroup of online pantry shoppers over time comparing both in-person and at-home approaches.

Conditions

Food Choice; Implementation Science; Food Insecurity; Diet, Healthy; Behavioral Economics

Keywords

Food insecurity; Digital nudges; Diet quality; Blood pressure; Weight; Body composition

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Healthfulness of Shopper Food Selection

  The primary outcome is change in the healthfulness of shopper food selection over time, measured using the Charitable Food Network Index (CFNI). At each time point, food orders will be categorized into proportions of green, yellow, and orange items based on the Healthy Eating Research (HER) guidelines. These proportions will be combined into a composite CFNI score. CFNI scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating healthier overall food selections.

  6 months pre-intervention and 6 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Diet quality

  3-6 months pre-intervention and 3-6 months post-intervention

• Blood Pressure

  3-6 months pre-intervention and 3-6 months post-intervention

• Body Weight

  3-6 months pre-intervention and 3-6 months post-intervention

• Body Composition

  3-6 months pre-intervention and 3-6 months post-intervention

Study Arms (1)

HOAP Intervention Cohort

EXPERIMENTAL

Online pantry shoppers will receive the behavioral digital nudge intervention informed by the Healthy Eating Research guidelines. Nudges include: 1) traffic light labeling of foods as green (choose often), yellow (choose sometimes), or orange (choose rarely) based on levels of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar, displayed using colored dots and borders; 2) traffic light filters for food items; 3) choice architecture to display healthier items first; 4) a nutrition summary bar to display the number and proportion of items in cart by traffic light color; and 5) opt-out healthy default nudges styled as Healthy Bonus Items. A subgroup of adult shoppers will participate in a feasibility study comparing in-person to remote collection of dietary and clinical outcomes. Subgroup participants will complete ASA24 diet recalls and provide blood pressure, weight, and body composition measurements.

Behavioral: Behavioral economics-based Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP) digital nudge intervention

Interventions

Behavioral economics-based Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP) digital nudge intervention BEHAVIORAL

Intervention will include behavioral digital nudges over a 6-month period to promote healthier food selection among online food pantry shoppers.

HOAP Intervention Cohort

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may not qualify if:

• Weigh more than 300 pounds
• Have a pacemaker, defibrillator, or other cardiac implant
• Plan to move out of metro Chicago in the next 6 months

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Northwestern University: lead
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Northwestern University

Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

• Schwartz M, Levi R, Lott M, Arm K, Seligman H. Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System. Healthy Eating Research. Accessed Oct 7, 2021. https://healthyeatingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/her-food-bank_FINAL.pdf

  BACKGROUND

• Gombi-Vaca MF, Xu R, Schwartz M, Battista Hesse M, Martin K, Caspi CE. Validating a Nutrition Ranking System for Food Pantries Using the Healthy Eating Index-2015. Nutrients. 2022 Sep 21;14(19):3899. doi: 10.3390/nu14193899.

  PMID: 36235551 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Body Weight

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Jenny Jia, MD, MSc

  Northwestern University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Emily Research Study Coordinator, MS

CONTACT

312-503-4917; emily.romero@northwestern.edu

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 22, 2026
• First Posted: July 27, 2026
• Study Start: August 20, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2029
• Last Updated: September 4, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: Shared data will be made available as soon as possible, and no later than the time of publication or the end of the funding period. Data will be available for at least 7 years thereafter.
• Access Criteria: All de-identified study data will be made available through ICPSR as public-use data without restriction.

Locations

US (1)