Participants were African-American adults with low income, at least one child etc. They received meal kits weekly for six weeks, each meal kit contained three recipes that served four people. Recipes and intervention details were selected based on input from focus groups with the target audience. All recipes met study-specific nutrition guidelines developed based on the 2015-2020 Dietary Guideline for Americans. Participants received, at no cost, all ingredients to cook the meals, waterproof recipe cards, cooking tools, and a waterproof nutrition handout each week.
The data suggested that the meal kit program had a positive impact on dietary behaviors and positively improved social/emotional outcomes like perceived stress (Zeldman et al., 2020). Data also suggested that families with low income are receptive to alternative options for procuring healthy meals, such as pre-packaged meal kits (Carman et al., 2021).
Expansion
In 2020, the same researchers who completed the pilot received a grant from the Walmart Foundation to expand this important work and improve the health and well-being of families in Alachua, Putnam, and Orange Counties. The Slice and Spice meal kit program was modified based on feedback from the pilot program, local steering committees, and members of the intended audience. Steering committees consisted of leaders involved in schools, food security organizations, food and nutrition education programs, local government, and religious organizations serving the target communities.
The meal kits were prepared by partner public high schools’ CA-CTE programs (in Alachua and Putnam County) or a nonprofit (in Orange County) to continue to keep costs low and serve families with low income in the local community. In addition, nutrition education was provided to students in the CA-CTE classes. COVID-19 and the food shortages that followed significantly impacted the cost and availability of some ingredients.
Participants were adults with low income and at least one child in the home. They received meal kits weekly for six weeks. Each meal kit contained three recipes that served four people. Participants received, at no cost, all ingredients to cook healthy meals, waterproof recipe cards, cooking tools, and a waterproof nutrition handout each week.
1 Meal kits consist of pre-portioned fresh and non-perishable ingredients designed for preparing one or more meals, accompanied by detailed cooking instructions for preparing these meals at home (Waxman, 2017).
References
Carman, K., Sweeney, L. H., House, L. A., Mathews, A. E., & Shelnutt, K. P. (2021). Acceptability and Willingness to Pay for a Meal Kit Program for African American Families with Low Income: A Pilot Study. Nutrients, 13(8), 2881. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13082881
Waxman, H. Meal Kit Delivery Services in the U.S., 2nd ed.; Packaged Facts: New York, NY, USA, 2017.
Zeldman, J., Carman, K., Sweeney, L. H., & Shelnutt, K. P. (2020). O27 Family Mealtime Behaviors Among Low-Income African Americans Participating in a Healthy Meal Kit Intervention. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2020, 52(7), S13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.04.039
