Food insecurity affects more than one in 10 Americans and is associated with poor nutrition and adverse health outcomes, including diabetes, hypertension, and mental health issues. Many food-insecure individuals use food pantries, which provide charitable food, to supplement household food needs. The emergence of client-choice food pantries, where individuals can select the foods they take home, provides a novel opportunity to intervene on the diets of food pantry clients.

This study evaluates the Healthy Pantry Program (HPP) in a sample of 10 food pantries in the greater Boston area. Pantries will be matched on baseline characteristics and randomized 1:1 into participation in HPP (intervention) or wait list (control). Outcomes data will be collected at the pantry and client level. The aims of the study are as follows:

Aim 1: To evaluate whether HPP is associated with increased healthy food purchases from the food bank by intervention food pantries compared to control food pantries.

Aim 2: To evaluate whether HPP is associated with increases in the availability of healthy food in intervention food pantries compared to control food pantries.

Aim 3: To evaluate whether HPP is associated with an increase in healthy food selection and dietary intake by clients of intervention food pantries compared to clients of control food pantries, using a cross-sectional sample of 400 food pantry clients at baseline and 400 food pantry clients at 6-month follow up.