Food InsecurityBeWellNCT06298253
Behavioral Economics to Implement a Traffic Light Nutrition Ranking System: Study 2
A study testing Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation and Basic SWAP implementation in people with Food Insecurity and Implementation Science, run by Massachusetts General Hospital at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This is a cluster randomized controlled trial of 30 food pantries affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank to test the use of behavioral economics (BE) tools to encourage food pantries to implement the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) program, with the goal of fostering accurate use of SWAP traffic light… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 90 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Food Insecurity, Implementation Science, Diet, Healthy
- What is being tested?
- Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation and Basic SWAP implementation
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 3,750 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2024to Jun 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 90 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Food pantries enrolled in the study will be partner agencies of the Greater Boston Food Bank that are maximum client choice, are located within approximately 1 hour driving time of Boston (for logistical feasibility), and are not actively using traffic-light nutrition ranking.
- Food pantry clients that complete assessments must be 18 years or older and speak English or Spanish.
Who cannot join
- Food pantries that are not affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank and are not maximum client choice.
- Food pantry clients that do not speak English or Spanish.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114
About this study
Official title: Behavioral Economics to Implement a Traffic Light Nutrition Ranking System in a Network of Food Pantries: Study 2
This is a cluster randomized controlled trial of 30 food pantries affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank to test the use of behavioral economics (BE) tools to encourage food pantries to implement the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) program, with the goal of fostering accurate use of SWAP traffic light labels on pantry shelves and increasing the healthfulness of foods chosen by pantry clients. Primary outcomes will be assessed at 6 and 12 months to compare the implementation and effectiveness of the SWAP program in the intervention vs. control pantries.
Read the detailed description
This study will test the use of behavioral economics (BE) tools to encourage food pantries to implement the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) program, with the goal of encouraging pantries to use SWAP traffic light labels on pantry shelves and increase the healthfulness of foods chosen by pantry clients. The study design is a 12-month cluster RCT of 30 Greater Boston Food Bank partner pantries comparing a basic SWAP implementation strategy (control, n=15) with a BE-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy (intervention, n=15). Primary outcomes assessed at 6 and 12 months will be implementation of the SWAP program within pantries and improvement of client food choices and dietary quality. At the end of 12 months, the BE-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy will be adapted, updated, and offered to the 15 pantries assigned to control (waitlist) at baseline. The 15 intervention pantries will be followed without further intervention.
- Being tested
- Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation, Basic SWAP implementation
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementationBehavioural
Intervention will include behavioral nudges at baseline and over 12 months to promote use of the SWAP nutrition program for pantries.
Basic SWAP implementationBehavioural
Intervention will include basic information about the SWAP program and encouragement to obtain SWAP toolkits.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy | Experimental | Pantries assigned to the intervention group will receive behavioral nudges for implementing the SWAP nutrition program. These include: 1) invoice labeling with the food labeled as red, yellow, or green; 2) receipt of the SWAP toolkit at no cost; 3) pantry learning communities; 4)incentives to purchase SWAP implementation materials (e.g., shelves); 5) food bank recognition for SWAP implementation. Receives: Behavioral: Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation |
| Basic SWAP implementation strategy | Active comparator | Pantries assigned to the control arm will receive email communication from the food bank dietitian providing them with information about SWAP, online links to SWAP implementation guides, and encouragement to purchase SWAP Toolkits on their own. Receives: Behavioral: Basic SWAP implementation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Pantry SWAP implementation
Proportion of pantries in the intervention vs. control group that implement SWAP (e.g., traffic-light labels on shelves)
Measured: 6 months and 12 months
Percent items (by weight) ordered by pantry that are labeled green or red
Using data collected from the food bank ordering platform, this outcome will be the proportions (by weight) of the overall orders from GBFB that are green-labeled and red-labeled according to SWAP ranking categories
Measured: 6 months and 12 months
Percent of pantry clients' selected food that is green or red
Using pantry client basket assessments, the total proportion (by weight) of food selected by the client that is labeled green (or red) will be calculated for each participant
Measured: 6 months and 12 months
Client dietary quality score
Rapid Prime Dietary Quality Score (range 0 to 52, higher is healthier) collected at the time clients are leaving the pantry
Measured: 6 months and 12 months
Secondary outcomes (1)
Skin carotenoid level
Measured using the Veggie Meter scale at the time clients leave the pantry; range is 0 to 800 units, with higher scores indicating higher carotenoid levels (and therefore higher fruit and vegetable intake)
Measured: 6 months and 12 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Mar 2024
- Study start1 Oct 2024
- Primary completion1 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionJun 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Food InsecurityStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Massachusetts General HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 3,750 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Anne N. Thorndike, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Investigators
- Anne N Thorndike, MD, MPH, Principal investigator, Massachusetts General Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06298253
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2024P000832
- Acronym
- BeWell
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Mar 2024
- Last updated
- 9 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Data collected from pantry client assessments at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months will be shared. This includes de-identified survey data, including dietary score data, client basket data with food identified as green, yellow, or red-labeled, and skin carotenoid levels. De-identified and aggregated food pantry ordering data, which is secondary data collected from the food bank ordering, will also be shared. The data and details related to our analytic plan and study measures will be deposited in a publicly accessible data repository, such as the Harvard Dataverse, a NIH-approved Scientific Generalist Data Repository free to researchers inside and outside of the Harvard community.
Publications
Perez PD, Faulkner KC, Wu Y, Schwartz MB, Caspi C, Burgun R, Ortiz L, Jia J, Cheng J, Chang Y, Levy DE, Thorndike AN. Behavioural economics intervention to implement a nutrition ranking system in food pantries: Be Well cluster randomised controlled trial protocol. BMJ Public Health. 2025 Dec 30;3(2):e003650. doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2025-003650. eCollection 2025.
PubMed 41496767
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Behavioral Economics to Implement a Traffic Light Nutrition Ranking System in a Network of Food Pantries: Study 2
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06298253
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- BeWell / 2024P000832
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 3,750 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Massachusetts General HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jun 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 7 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This is a cluster randomized controlled trial of 30 food pantries affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank to test the use of behavioral economics (BE) tools to encourage food pantries to implement the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) program, with the goal of fostering accurate use of SWAP traffic light labels on pantry shelves and increasing the healthfulness of foods chosen by pantry clients. Primary outcomes will be assessed at 6 and 12 months to compare the implementation and effectiveness of the SWAP program in the intervention vs. control pantries.
Detailed description
This study will test the use of behavioral economics (BE) tools to encourage food pantries to implement the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) program, with the goal of encouraging pantries to use SWAP traffic light labels on pantry shelves and increase the healthfulness of foods chosen by pantry clients. The study design is a 12-month cluster RCT of 30 Greater Boston Food Bank partner pantries comparing a basic SWAP implementation strategy (control, n=15) with a BE-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy (intervention, n=15). Primary outcomes assessed at 6 and 12 months will be implementation of the SWAP program within pantries and improvement of client food choices and dietary quality. At the end of 12 months, the BE-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy will be adapted, updated, and offered to the 15 pantries assigned to control (waitlist) at baseline. The 15 intervention pantries will be followed without further intervention.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy | Experimental | Behavioral: Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementationPantries assigned to the intervention group will receive behavioral nudges for implementing the SWAP nutrition program. These include: 1) invoice labeling with the food labeled as red, yellow, or green; 2) receipt of the SWAP toolkit at no cost; 3) pantry learning communities; 4)incentives to purchase SWAP implementation materials (e.g., shelves); 5) food bank recognition for SWAP implementation. |
| Basic SWAP implementation strategy | Active comparator | Behavioral: Basic SWAP implementationPantries assigned to the control arm will receive email communication from the food bank dietitian providing them with information about SWAP, online links to SWAP implementation guides, and encouragement to purchase SWAP Toolkits on their own. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 90 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Food pantries enrolled in the study will be partner agencies of the Greater Boston Food Bank that are maximum client choice, are located within approximately 1 hour driving time of Boston (for logistical feasibility), and are not actively using traffic-light nutrition ranking.
- Food pantry clients that complete assessments must be 18 years or older and speak English or Spanish.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Food pantries that are not affiliated with the Greater Boston Food Bank and are not maximum client choice.
- Food pantry clients that do not speak English or Spanish.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementationIntervention will include behavioral nudges at baseline and over 12 months to promote use of the SWAP nutrition program for pantries. | Behavioural | Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation strategy |
| Basic SWAP implementationIntervention will include basic information about the SWAP program and encouragement to obtain SWAP toolkits. | Behavioural | Basic SWAP implementation strategy |
Primary outcome
Pantry SWAP implementation
Time frame: 6 months and 12 months
Proportion of pantries in the intervention vs. control group that implement SWAP (e.g., traffic-light labels on shelves)
Percent items (by weight) ordered by pantry that are labeled green or red
Time frame: 6 months and 12 months
Using data collected from the food bank ordering platform, this outcome will be the proportions (by weight) of the overall orders from GBFB that are green-labeled and red-labeled according to SWAP ranking categories
Percent of pantry clients' selected food that is green or red
Time frame: 6 months and 12 months
Using pantry client basket assessments, the total proportion (by weight) of food selected by the client that is labeled green (or red) will be calculated for each participant
Client dietary quality score
Time frame: 6 months and 12 months
Rapid Prime Dietary Quality Score (range 0 to 52, higher is healthier) collected at the time clients are leaving the pantry
1 secondary outcome
Skin carotenoid level
Time frame: 6 months and 12 months
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Oct 2026.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 41496767Perez PD, Faulkner KC, Wu Y, Schwartz MB, Caspi C, Burgun R, Ortiz L, Jia J, Cheng J, Chang Y, Levy DE, Thorndike AN. Behavioural economics intervention to implement a nutrition ranking system in food pantries: Be Well cluster randomised controlled trial protocol. BMJ Public Health. 2025 Dec 30;3(2):e003650. doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2025-003650. eCollection 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Data collected from pantry client assessments at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months will be shared. This includes de-identified survey data, including dietary score data, client basket data with food identified as green, yellow, or red-labeled, and skin carotenoid levels. De-identified and aggregated food pantry ordering data, which is secondary data collected from the food bank ordering, will also be shared. The data and details related to our analytic plan and study measures will be deposited in a publicly accessible data repository, such as the Harvard Dataverse, a NIH-approved Scientific Generalist Data Repository free to researchers inside and outside of the Harvard community.
Related trials for Food Insecurity
Recruiting
Developing a Support Application for Food Pantries (SAFPAS) to Improve Client Access to Healthy Foods & Enhance Emergency Preparedness
Improving Healthy Food Access in Food Insecurity Populations in Normal and Emergency Situations
Recruiting
Linking Education, Produce Provision, and Community Referrals to Improve Diabetes Care (LINK)
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Nutrition Poor
Not yet recruiting
Community Health Worker Nutrition Self-Management Support for Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Health
Hypertension (HTN), CKD - Chronic Kidney Disease
Not yet recruitingObservational study
Addressing Food Insecurity in Pregnancy
Food Insecurity, Pregnancy
Active, not recruiting
Pilot of Continuous Glucose Monitor-Augmented Food Is Medicine
Nutrition, Type 2 Diabetes
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Anne N Thorndike, MD, MPH principal investigator
Massachusetts General Hospital
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Behavioral economics-enhanced SWAP implementation and Basic SWAP implementation in people with Food Insecurity and Implementation Science, run by Massachusetts General Hospital at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Pantry SWAP implementation (time frame: 6 months and 12 months). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06298253, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Oct 2026.