Iowa Produce Prescription Program

Summary

The goal of this study is to understand how a Produce Prescription Program paired with a behavioral nutrition intervention affect nutrition and overall health in low-income Iowans with type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes. Research questions include:

1. What impact does a produce prescription program paired with a behavioral nutrition intervention on nutrition security compared to the behavioral nutrition intervention alone and usual care groups?
2. What impact does a produce prescription program paired with a behavioral nutrition intervention on hemoglobin A1c, fruit and vegetables intake, food security, and related behaviors compared to the behavioral nutrition intervention alone and usual care groups?

Participants of the behavioral nutrition intervention (Produce Your Path) alone will:

* Watch monthly nutrition education videos about topics like planning and budgeting for groceries, reading nutrition labels, eating more fruits and vegetables, and new recipes to try
* Complete a short quiz about their own goals and habits related to the topic
* (Optional): Join a Facebook group to communicate with other participants about their goals, share ideas and recipes, and ask questions

Participants of both the Produce Prescription and Produce Your Path Interventions will:

* Complete each monthly nutrition education module and monthly quiz
* (Optional): Join a Facebook group to communicate with other participants about their goals, share ideas and recipes, and ask questions
* Receive $30.00 per each person in their household monthly to buy fresh fruits and vegetables

Participants of the control group will:

* Follow their usual care for health conditions
* Complete the required data collection for the study

Conditions

• Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
• Pre-diabetes

Interventions

OTHER

Iowa Produce Prescription Program (I-PPP)

The I-PPP intervention offers a produce prescription in the form of $30.00 per family member in a household every month to spend on fruit and vegetables. The dollars can be used at local retail partners, which are specific to each community. A mobile app has been developed for the I-PPP intervention participants. At the beginning of each month for six months, the app asks participants to complete a nutrition education module and a corresponding short quiz. After the participant completes the module, $30.00 per family member in the house will be loaded into the app for participants to use over the next month at local retail partners to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Participants will have 30 days from the date of distribution to spend the funds before they expire.

BEHAVIORAL

Produce Your Path Behavioral Nutrition Intervention (PYP)

The PYP Intervention is a six-month virtual behavioral intervention grounded in Self Determination Theory. The intervention aims to improve participants' competence, autonomy, and sense of relatedness through educational videos, recipes, and supplemental resources. Each monthly module contains several short videos, totaling around 15 minutes in length. The module topics include goal-setting, planning meals, preparing fruits and vegetables, reading nutrition labels, budgeting for healthier eating, and making healthier food swaps. The videos are tailored to represent a variety of cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds, with diverse actors and recipes. Upon completion of each monthly module, a short quiz is administered to participants to measure self-efficacy related to the topic and prompt goal-setting. To further increase social support, an optional Facebook Group component allows participants to post questions, share goals and recipes, and answer prompts from the research team.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Iowa State University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-01

Primary Completion

2026-01-31

Completion

2026-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations