Healthy Meal Kits and Cooking Lessons for Food Insecurity Among Children

Overseen By Lauren Ciszak, MD

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: MaineHealth

Disqualifiers: Food-restrictive diet, Anaphylactic allergy, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 2

Duration: 4 weeks

40 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Meal Kit plus Mobile Culinary Medicine Education for addressing food insecurity among children?

Research shows that programs providing fruit and vegetable prescriptions can improve food security in low-income households, suggesting that similar interventions like meal kits and cooking lessons could also help. Additionally, education on food preparation and procurement behaviors has been identified as promising for improving dietary quality and food security in food-insecure households. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Is the Healthy Meal Kits and Cooking Lessons program safe for children?

Research on meal kit programs, like the East Side Table Make-at-Home Meal-Kit Program, suggests they are safe and well-received by participants. These programs have shown high retention rates and improvements in cooking skills and healthy food availability, indicating they are generally safe for use in humans. ^{1 6 7 8 9}

How does the Meal Kit plus Mobile Culinary Medicine Education treatment differ from other treatments for food insecurity among children?

This treatment is unique because it combines meal kits with mobile culinary education, providing both the ingredients and the skills needed to prepare healthy meals at home. Unlike other programs that may only offer food assistance, this approach empowers families by teaching them cooking techniques and improving their confidence in meal preparation, which can lead to lasting changes in dietary habits. ^{1 9 10 11 12}

What is the purpose of this trial?

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if providing healthy meal kits to food insecure families can help lessen the social and emotional impacts of food insecurity on kids and their caregivers in rural Maine. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is receiving healthy meal kits delivered to homes feasible and acceptable to rural Maine families? 2. Does receiving meal kits (along with an app to help learn how to cook the food) improve food insecurity and diet quality in rural Maine families? 3. Does receiving meal kits (along with an app to help learn how to cook the food) improve family function in rural Maine families? We will look at caregivers' stress, family conflict, household chaos, and child emotional-behavioral symptoms. Participants will: 1. Recieve and prepare a dietitian-designed meal kit with 10 meals per week for 4 weeks. 2. Receive free culinary medicine education via an app that they will continue to have access to after the study ends. 3. Complete a 1-1.5 hour virtual visit at the beginning of and end of the study.

Research Team

Lauren Ciszak, MD

Principal Investigator

MaineHealth

Merelise Ametti, PhD, MPH

Principal Investigator

MaineHealth

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for families in rural Maine dealing with food insecurity. It's designed to help kids and their caregivers by providing healthy meal kits and cooking lessons via an app. To join, participants must be experiencing food insecurity and have the ability to receive and prepare meals at home.

Inclusion Criteria

Reside in rural county in Maine as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration

Endorse food insufficiency within the past month on their screening questionnaire

Able to speak and read in English

Exclusion Criteria

I follow a strict diet due to health reasons or personal choice.

A household member with any anaphylactic food allergy

No access to a smartphone with texting capabilities

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants receive a dietitian-designed meal kit with 10 meals per week for 4 weeks and culinary medicine education via an app

4 weeks

1 virtual visit at the beginning

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in food insecurity, diet quality, and family function

1 week

1 virtual visit at the end

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Meal Kit plus Mobile Culinary Medicine Education

Trial Overview The study tests if delivering dietitian-designed meal kits, along with mobile culinary education, can improve family functioning, reduce caregiver stress, and enhance children's mental health in food-insecure households.

Participant Groups

Group I: Participants Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants will receive 4 weeks of health meal kits delivered to their homes in addition culinary medicine education via an app. They will also participate in weekly as well as pre-and post-intervention assessments.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

MaineHealth

Lead Sponsor

Trials

76

Recruited

43,800+

Findings from Research

Food insecurity affects nearly fifty million people in the U.S. and is linked to significant negative health outcomes, with food-insecure children being at least twice as likely to report poor health and 1.4 times more likely to have asthma compared to their food-secure peers.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays a crucial role in alleviating food insecurity, which in turn helps reduce adverse health effects, particularly among vulnerable populations like children and seniors.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food Insecurity And Health Outcomes. Gundersen, C., Ziliak, JP.[2022]

The Food As Medicine (FAME) initiative successfully engaged children in hands-on cooking and nutrition education, leading to increased enthusiasm for trying new foods and assisting with meal preparation at home.

The pilot program demonstrated that involving children in nutrition education can positively influence family dietary habits, encouraging healthier eating practices among low-income families.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food as Medicine: A Pilot Nutrition and Cooking Curriculum for Children of Participants in a Community-Based Culinary Medicine Class. Marshall, H., Albin, J.[2021]

References

1. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Pediatric Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program Increases Food Security in Low-Income Households. [2021]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Scoping Review of Household Factors Contributing to Dietary Quality and Food Security in Low-Income Households with School-Age Children in the United States. [2023]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"I Felt Like I Had Something I Could Do About It": Pediatric Clinician Experiences With a Food Insecurity-Focused Produce Prescription Program. [2023]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food Insecurity and Child Maltreatment: A Quality Improvement Project. [2018]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Assessment of a Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program in the Northern Manhattan Community. [2022]

6. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing nutritious meal kits and no-prep meals to improve food security and diet quality among food pantry clients. [2023]

7. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing nutritious meal kits and no-prep meals to improve food security and diet quality among food pantry clients. [2023]

8. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

What's in a commercial meal kit? Structured review of Australian meal kits. [2023]

9. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The East Side Table Make-at-Home Meal-Kit Program is feasible and acceptable: A pilot study. [2022]

10. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food Insecurity And Health Outcomes. [2022]

11. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Dietary patterns and food insecurity of students participating in a food aid programme: the Mediterranean perspective. [2021]

12. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food as Medicine: A Pilot Nutrition and Cooking Curriculum for Children of Participants in a Community-Based Culinary Medicine Class. [2021]