Improving Dietary Quality Through Animal Source Protein Accessibility in a Low-Resource Setting

Enrolling by invitation · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Nutrition Intervention, Healthy Eating, Diet, Healthy, Hunger, Food Security

In brief

Dietary quality is the lowest in the lifespan during childhood through adolescents, a period of rapid growth and development. Protein food recommendations and requirements for protein as a nutrient, along with other nutrients, are unmet by the largest percentage of any age group during adolescence with additional risks for those living in low-resource households. High quality animal source proteins and other healthful foods including fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grains are less accessible to households with fewer economic resources. Food box interventions have been successful in improving dietary quality in other community interventions, especially when these interventions provide culturally relevant foods with nutrition education support that is tailored to the population. This study will evaluate the effect of a weekly, 12-month food box intervention program, referred to as the Nutrition Secure Indianapolis (NSI) Program, on child dietary quality and household food security in low-income, ethnically diverse populations using a longitudinal, controlled design. Low-income households (n=500) in Indianapolis participating in the NSI Program will be invited to join a research program evaluation study. Study assessments will include repeated 24-hour dietary recalls to determine usual intake, the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module, a short-form mental health assessment, and a voluntary health screening, from before and after the 12-month intervention period. The aim of this study is to improve dietary quality per the Healthy Eating Index and other dietary outcomes among children and adolescents living in low-resource and ethnically diverse households through a longitudinal healthful food box intervention containing animal source proteins and other dietary components, compared with a control.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07620028

Run by

Purdue University

People needed

500

Starts

2026-05-14

Expected to finish

2027-08-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-06-02

Who can join

Age: 5 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Lives in Indianapolis Neighborhood
• 18 years or older
• Reads and speaks English or Spanish
• Willingness to answer study assessments at the beginning and again one year later at the end of the study
• Has a child (or is the legal guardian) aged 5-18 years old who lives with them during the week while the child attends school (not preschool)
• Willingness to allow one of their children to participate in the study and complete study assessments
• Willingness to stay in touch with research staff for the entire length of the study (\~13-14 months)

You may not qualify if…

• Has a way to refrigerate and warm or cook food, in the place where they live

Where it is running

• Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
• Community Alliance of the Far Eastside — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.