1. Impact of Enhanced Food Pantry Services on Food Security among Adults with Diabetes Using a Crossover Study Design
- Author
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Seligman, Hilary K, Levi, Ronli, Ridberg, Ronit, Smith, Morgan, Hills, Nancy, and Waxman, Elaine
- Subjects
Agricultural ,Veterinary and Food Sciences ,Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,Animal Production ,Food Sciences ,Health Disparities ,Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities ,Nutrition ,Social Determinants of Health ,Prevention ,Diabetes ,Clinical Research ,Metabolic and endocrine ,Zero Hunger ,charitable food system ,food security ,food pantry intervention ,diabetes management ,low-income populations ,Animal production ,Food sciences ,Nutrition and dietetics - Abstract
Food banks and pantries provide food to millions of food-insecure households each year. However, there has been limited research to understand the extent to which they improve food security. This is a secondary, prespecified analysis of a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02569060). We examined whether an enhanced food bank intervention impacted the food security status of adults with diabetes. Using a crossover design, participants (n = 568) were randomly assigned to receive the intervention (usual pantry services plus twice-monthly diabetes-specific food boxes, diabetes self-management education, health care referrals, and glucose monitoring) or 6 mo of usual services. Results demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in food insecurity among participants following the intervention phase compared with the control phase (mean: 0.49-point decrease; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.77; P = 0.0006). This finding adds to evidence that the charitable food system plays an important role in mitigating short-term food insecurity for adults with diabetes.
- Published
- 2022