Recruiting

Healthy Options At Pantries

Sponsor:

Northwestern University

Code:

NCT07729436

Conditions

Food Choice

Implementation Science

Food Insecurity

Diet, Healthy

Behavioral Economics

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

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

Study Details

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

Study ID

NCT07729436

Start date

Aug 20, 2026

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Mar 31, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jan 31, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Adults age 18 years or older
  • Speak English or Spanish
  • Access to a smartphone
  • Have ordered from the online food pantry at least half of the available times over the past 6 pantry eligible periods (for example, at least 3 times in the past 6 weeks for online food pantries that allow weekly ordering or at least 3 times in the past 6 months for online food pantries that allow monthly ordering), during the 6-month period prior to implementation of the HOAP program (i.e., months -6 to -1)
  • Plan to continue ordering from the online food pantry for the next 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 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

Study Design

Enrollment

300 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: HOAP Intervention Cohort

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.

Interventions

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

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

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Healthfulness of Shopper Food Selection [ Time Frame: 6 months pre-intervention and 6 months post-intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Emily Research Study Coordinator, MS

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

Locations

Northwestern University

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611

Contacts

Emily Research Study Coordinator, MS

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

Principal Investigator:

Jenny Jia, MD, MSc

More Information

Sponsor

Northwestern University

Last update posted

Sep 4, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

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

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Northwestern University on 2026-09-04.