Free Living Food Waste Management and Diet Quality Improvement Using Smart Intervention and Food Image Application (FoodImage2)

Using the FoodImageTM App to Assess Smart Interventions Designed to Improve Nutrition & Reduce Food Waste

The primary aim of this study is to reduce household food waste and improve individual nutrition. This will be achieved using the FoodImageTM smartphone app 1, a novel method for measuring household food acquisition, food intake, and food waste decisions, to assess the efficacy of a smart intervention that targets food waste reduction and diet quality improvement. The intervention is designed to improve nutrition by offsetting intake of less nutritious foods with increased fresh fruit and vegetable (FV) intake while simultaneously reducing household food waste via strategies tailored to participating households.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diet, Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Smart Intervention for Food Waste Management and Replacing current diet with Fruits and Vegetables; Other: Smart Intervention for Stress Management

Detailed Description

Data collected will be used to:

1. Test the effects of free FV provision on: (a) household food waste levels, (b) total FV acquisition (free FV provision plus purchases post-intervention vs. pre-intervention FV purchases), and (c) the consumption of FV (Food Patterns Equivalents Database, FPED). We hypothesize that free FV provision will increase food waste, total FV acquisition, and diet quality (increase the Healthy Eating Index [HEI]). We will test these hypotheses by comparing baseline and follow-up data from participants randomly assigned to the control condition, which features free FV provision and a placebo (stress management) intervention not focused on food waste. Exploratory analyses will examine the effects on dietary energy intake and if the freely provided FV replace non-FV foods in the baseline diet.
2. Test if a smart intervention to reduce food waste and replace less healthy foods with FV significantly reduces post-intervention food waste compared to the control group while increasing FV acquisition and consumption compared to pre-intervention baseline. We hypothesize that this smart intervention will increase total FV acquisition and FV consumption compared to baseline, and these increases are not expected to differ significantly from control. It is further hypothesized that those receiving the smart intervention will significantly reduce food waste compared to controls. Exploratory analyses will examine the extent to which the smart intervention had the intended effect of replacing less healthy foods with FV consumption.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 46
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Louisiana
    • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, 70806
      • Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 62 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female, age 18-62 years
• Body mass index (BMI) 18.5 - 50 kg/m2, based on self-reported height and weight
• Ownership of an iPhone, which the participant is willing to use for the study
• Access to Apple ID, password, and email address and willing to use them in the course of the study
• Performs a majority of household food shopping and preparation
• If children are present in household, all children are between 6-18 years
• Able to meet the schedule demands for the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not able to use an iPhone
• Refusal or unable to use the smartphone app to collect data in free-living conditions
• Households that purchase groceries less than 1 time per week
• More than 2 children living in the household
• Pennington Biomedical Research Center employee
• Unwilling to sign consent to use web screener questions for data set and analysis.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Food Waste Intervention Group; This group will receive an intervention on food waste management and fruit and vegetable replacement to increase diet quality while avoiding an increase in calories. Both groups will obtain free fruit and vegetable boxes and will use the FoodImage app to record food acquisition (Shop), food prep (Prep), intake (Eat) and waste (Toss) for approximately 3 (24 hour) days; ideally including 1 weekend date.	Other: Smart Intervention for Food Waste Management and Replacing current diet with Fruits and Vegetables; Will receive a Smart Intervention on Food Waste Management and replacing less healthy foods with fruits and vegetables.; Other Names: Treatment Group
Placebo Comparator: Stress Management Control Group; This group will receive an intervention on Stress Management and will be intensity matched to the treatment group. Both groups will obtain free fruit and vegetable boxes and will use FoodImage to record food acquisition (Shop), food prep (Prep), intake (Eat) and waste (Toss) for approximately 3 (24 hour) days; ideally including 1 weekend date.	Other: Smart Intervention for Stress Management; Will receive a Smart Intervention on stress management practices and strategies.; Other Names: Control Group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The Impact of Free FV Provision on Household FV Intake.	We will test if levels of household FV intake change significantly over 4 weeks among participants randomized to the control condition, which includes free FV provision and a placebo (stress management) intervention not focused on food waste. FV intake will be measured with the FoodImage app. FV intake will be quantified as the total number of servings of FV eaten per day, with FV servings defined by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED).	4 weeks
The Impact of Free FV Provision on Levels of Household Food Waste, Measured in Grams.	We will test if levels of household food waste change significantly over 4 weeks among participants randomized to the control condition, which includes free FV provision and a placebo (stress management) intervention not focused on food waste. Food waste will be measured with the FoodImage app. Food waste will be quantified as total grams of food waste per day.	4 weeks
The Impact of Free FV Provision on Levels of Household Food Waste, Measured in Calories.	We will test if levels of household food waste change significantly over 4 weeks among participants randomized to the control condition, which includes free FV provision and a placebo (stress management) intervention not focused on food waste. Food waste will be measured with the FoodImage app. Food waste will be quantified as total calories of food waste per day.	4 weeks
Change in Fruit and Vegetable Intake With Smart Intervention Compared to Pre-intervention Baseline	Fruit and vegetable intake was assessed at baseline and post-intervention using data collected via the FoodImage app for three consecutive days prior to the first free fruit and vegetable pickup and three days following the final pickup. Intake was calculated in servings/day. Change is calculated as post-intervention value minus pre-intervention value, where positive values indicate an increase in intake and negative values indicate a decrease.	4 weeks
Change in Diet Quality (Healthy Eating Index) With Smart Intervention Compared to Pre-intervention Baseline	Diet quality will be assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020), a validated tool that measures adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better diet quality. The total HEI score is calculated based on intake data collected via the FoodImage app over a 3-day period before and after the 4-week Smart intervention. The intervention includes the free provision of fruits and vegetables (FV) and aims to reduce food waste and replace less healthy foods with FV.	4 weeks
Determine if a Smart Intervention to Reduce Food Waste and Replace Less Healthy Foods With FV Significantly Increases FV Plate Waste Compared to Pre-intervention Baseline.	We will test if levels of FV plate waste change significantly over 4 weeks among participants randomized to the control condition, which includes free FV provision and a placebo (stress management) intervention not focused on food waste. FV plate waste will be measured with the FoodImage app. FV plate waste will be quantified as total grams of food waste per day.	4 weeks
Determine if a Smart Intervention to Reduce Food Waste and Replace Less Healthy Foods With FV Significantly Reduces Household Level Food Waste, Measured in Grams, Compared to a Control Intervention.	We will test if a smart intervention to reduce food waste and replace less healthy foods with FV significantly reduces food waste over 4 weeks compared to a control (stress management) intervention. Both interventions include FV provision. Food waste will be measured with the FoodImage app. Food waste will be quantified as total grams of food waste per day.	4 weeks
Determine if a Smart Intervention to Reduce Food Waste and Replace Less Healthy Foods With FV Significantly Reduces Household Level Food Waste, Measured in Calories, Compared to a Control Intervention.	We will test if a smart intervention to reduce food waste and replace less healthy foods with FV significantly reduces food waste over 4 weeks compared to a control (stress management) intervention. Both interventions include FV provision. Food waste will be measured with the FoodImage app. Food waste will be quantified as total calories of food waste.	4 weeks
The Impact of Free FV Provision on Household FV Acquisition.	We will test if levels of household FV acquisition change significantly over 4 weeks among participants randomized to the control condition, which includes free FV provision and a placebo (stress management) intervention not focused on food waste. FV acquisition will be measured with the Foodlmage app. FV acquisition will be quantified as the total number of servings of FV acquired by the household, with FV servings defined by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED).	4 weeks
Determine if a Smart Intervention to Reduce Food Waste and Replace Less Healthy Foods With FV Significantly Increases FV Acquisition Compared to Pre-intervention Baseline.	We will test if a smart intervention to reduce food waste and replace less healthy foods with FV significantly increases FV acquisition over 4 weeks. The intervention includes free provision of FV. FV acquisition will be measured with the Foodlmage app. FV acquisition will be quantified as the total number of servings of FV acquired by the household, with FV servings defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED).	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Pennington Biomedical Research Center
• Collaborators: Ohio State University; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Corby K Martin, PhD, Pennington Biomedical

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Roe BE, Diktas HE, Qi D, Martin CK, Apolzan JW. Households Provided Free Produce Require Intensive Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Reduce Plate Waste: A Randomized Trial. J Nutr. 2026 Apr;156(4):101403. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2026.101403. Epub 2026 Feb 11.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 23, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 23, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): December 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 20, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): September 30, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 12, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 29, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Stress Management; Food Intake; Diet Quality; Food Waste
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Research Design; Epidemiologic Methods; Research Design; Methods; Food; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Food and Beverages; Control Groups; Fruit; Vegetables
• Other Study ID Numbers: PBRC 2021-015

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No