Produce Prescriptions and Veggie Meter Scores for College Food Security

April 30, 2026 updated by: Joachim Dzidzor Sackey, Ph.D, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Produce Prescriptions and Veggie-Meter Scores: A Feasibility and Pilot Study of an 8-Week Produce Box Intervention to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Food Security in College Students

The goal of this pilot intervention study is to learn if providing weekly produce boxes helps college students who struggle to afford healthy food. It will also test if this program is practical to run on a college campus. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does receiving free produce boxes increase students' fruit and vegetable intake?
  • Does the program improve students' food security and nutrient levels in the skin? Researchers will measure skin carotenoids (a marker of healthy eating) using a non-invasive finger scan called a Veggie Meter to see if the produce boxes improve nutrition biomarkers.

Participants will:

  • Receive one free box of fresh fruits and vegetables plus printed nutrition education materials every week for 8 weeks.
  • Visit the campus site at the start, week 4 and end of the study [week 8] for a finger scan, measure their weight and to complete surveys.
  • Provide feedback on their experience with the produce boxes and their food access.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New Jersey
      • Newark, New Jersey, United States, 07107
        • Rutgers Health Food Pantry
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Joachim D. Sackey, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Must be a currently enrolled student at Rutgers Health.
  • Must be 18 years of age or older.
  • Must be able to pick up a produce box weekly at the designated campus distribution site for 8 consecutive weeks.
  • Must provide informed consent to participate in the study, including all data collection time points (Weeks 0, 4, and 8).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not a currently enrolled student at Rutgers Health.
  • Less than 18 years of age.
  • Not able to pick up food weekly
  • Not willing to go through study assessments.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Produce prescription arm
Participants receive one produce box per week for 8 consecutive weeks plus printed nutrition information. Each box contains approximately $40 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables selected for their high carotenoid content and dependent on seasonal availability. To monitor biological changes and adherence, participants undergo non-invasive skin carotenoid measurements using a Veggie Meter and complete surveys at baseline (Week 0), midpoint (Week 4), and study completion (Week 8).
Other: Produce boxes
The Produce Prescription Program provides a weekly, box of fresh produce specifically curated for high carotenoid content (e.g., leafy greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes). Each box is accompanied by nutrition education materials, including seasonal recipes, storage tips, and preparation guides designed to increase participant food agency and cooking confidence. This intervention is distinguished by its focus on objective nutritional biomarkers; rather than relying solely on self-reported intake, the study utilizes reflection spectroscopy (Veggie Meter) to track changes in skin carotenoid levels at baseline (Week 0), midpoint (Week 4), and completion (Week 8). The contents of the boxes are seasonally dependent to ensure high nutrient density and to simulate a sustainable, real-world campus food-as-medicine model.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Skin Carotenoid Score
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)
Skin carotenoid levels are measured using the Veggie Meter, a non-invasive device that utilizes reflection spectroscopy to provide an objective biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake. The Veggie Meter score is measured on a continuous scale ranging from 0 to 800 units. A higher score indicates a higher concentration of carotenoids in the skin, which serves as a proxy for increased consumption of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables. The study will evaluate the change in these scores to determine the impact of the produce box intervention.
Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Food Insecurity Status
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)
Food insecurity is assessed using the 2-item Hunger Vital Sign screener. This validated tool identifies individuals at risk of food insecurity based on concerns about food running out and the inability to afford more food. Responses are categorized as "food secure" or "food insecure." A participant is considered food insecure if they identify as "often true" or "sometimes true" to either of the two statements. The study will evaluate the change in the proportion of participants categorized as food insecure from the beginning to the end of the intervention.
Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)
Change in Self-Reported Daily Fruit and Vegetable Intake
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)
Fruit and vegetable intake is assessed using the 2-item NIH (National Institutes of Health) All-Day Fruit and Vegetable Screener. This tool asks participants to report the frequency of their consumption of 100% fruit juice and fruit, as well as vegetables (excluding fried potatoes), over the past month. Responses are converted into an estimated score of daily servings of fruits and vegetables. The study will evaluate the mean change in daily servings from baseline to the end of the intervention.
Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)
Change in Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Diet quality is assessed using the 21-item Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS). The PDQS measures the consumption frequency of 21 distinct food groups, which are categorized into 12 "healthy" food groups (e.g., green leafy vegetables, legumes, whole grains) and 9 "unhealthy" food groups (e.g., processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, fried foods).

Scoring logic: > * For healthy food groups, higher consumption frequency receives a higher point value.

For unhealthy food groups, higher consumption frequency receives a lower point value (points are penalized).

The total score ranges from 0 to 42, where a higher score indicates better overall diet quality and higher alignment with a nutrient-dense dietary pattern. The study will evaluate the mean change in the total PDQS score from baseline to study completion.
Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Subjective Well-Being (WHO-5)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Subjective well-being and quality of life are assessed using the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). This validated scale asks participants to rate their well-being over the past two weeks using five positively phrased statements (e.g., "I have felt cheerful and in good spirits").

Scoring logic: > * Each item is scored on a 0 to 5 scale, where 0 is "at no time" and 5 is "all of the time."

The raw score ranges from 0 to 25.

The raw score is multiplied by 4 to generate a final percentage score from 0 (worst imaginable well-being) to 100 (best imaginable well-being).

The study will evaluate the mean change in the transformed (0-100) score from baseline to study completion.
Baseline (Week 0) and Study Completion (Week 8)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Joachim D. Sackey, PhD, Rutgers Health, Rutgers University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 30, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pro2026000603

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

As this is a pilot feasibility study with a small sample size (N=20) at a single campus location, the risk of participant re-identification is elevated. The study team is currently evaluating the technical and ethical requirements for de-identification that would satisfy both Institutional Review Board (IRB) privacy standards and the data sharing requirements of future peer-reviewed journals. A final decision on the scope and platform for data sharing will be made upon the conclusion of the 8-week intervention and primary data analysis.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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