Protocol for the Support Application for Food PAntrieS trial: design, implementation, and evaluation plan for a digital application to promote healthy food access and support food pantry operations

TL;DR

This paper outlines a trial for a mobile app called SAFPAS designed to improve food pantry operations and promote healthier food access during normal and emergency conditions.

Contribution

The novel contribution is the development and evaluation of a digital application to streamline emergency food distribution and enhance communication across food systems.

Findings

SAFPAS aims to improve the healthfulness of food received by pantry clients through better alignment of supply and demand.

The app will be tested in 20 food pantries in Baltimore with outcomes measured using the Food Assessment Scoring Tool (FAST).

Formative research in Detroit will help scale the app to other urban settings nationwide.

Abstract

Food-insecure households commonly rely on food pantries to supplement their nutritional needs, a challenge that was underscored during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food pantries, and the food banks that supply them, face common challenges in meeting variable client volume and dietary needs under normal and emergency (e.g., pandemic, natural disaster) conditions. A scalable digital strategy that has the capacity to streamline the emergency food distribution system, while promoting healthy food options, managing volunteer recruitment and training, and connecting to emergency management systems in times of need, is urgently required. To address this gap, we are developing a working mobile application (app) called the Support Application for Food PAntrieS (SAFPAS) and will evaluate its feasibility and impact on food pantry staff preparedness, stocking, and client uptake of healthful foods and beverages in two urban United States settings.

This paper describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial of the SAFPAS mobile application. We will conduct formative research in Baltimore, Maryland and Detroit, Michigan to develop and refine the SAFPAS app and increase scalability potential to other urban settings. Then we will test the app in 20 food pantries in Baltimore randomized to intervention or comparison. The impact of the app will be evaluated at several levels of the emergency food system, including food pantry clients (n = 360), food pantry staff and volunteers (n = 100), food pantry stock, and city agencies such as the local food bank and Office of Emergency Management. The primary outcome of the SAFPAS trial is to improve the healthfulness of the foods received by food pantry clients, measured using the Food Assessment Scoring Tool (FAST). Post-trial, we will conduct additional formative research in Detroit to prepare the app for scale-up.

We anticipate that SAFPAS will improve alignment in the supply and demand for healthy foods among food pantry clients, food pantries, and city agencies which supply food in Baltimore. Real-time, bidirectional communication between entities across the system allows for increased situational awareness at all levels during normal and emergency operations. By conducting formative research in Detroit, we hope to increase the scalability of the SAFPAS app to additional settings nationwide.

NCT87654321. https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05880004.

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