Advancing North Shore Community Health Through Ocean-raised and faRm-grown Foods (ANCHOR Study) (ANCHOR)

This study is testing a new way to support healthy eating by providing free meal kits through a food pantry. Adults who use The Open Door food pantry will receive meal kits that include fresh produce, seafood, and other ingredients, along with simple recipes and optional cooking demonstrations, over a 3-month period. The goal is to learn whether these meal kits are helpful, easy to use, and a good fit for the community. Researchers will also look at whether they help improve access to healthy foods, diet quality, and confidence with cooking. Participants will be asked to complete short surveys at the beginning and end of the study, and some may be invited to join a group discussion to share their experiences. Overall, the study aims to improve programs that connect people to healthy, locally sourced food and to inform future efforts to support nutrition and food access in the community.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Diet Quality
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Medically supportive meal kits

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, PhD, MPH; Phone Number: 469-240-9112‬; Email: niche@tufts.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Adeline Peat, BS; Phone Number: 469-240-9112‬; Email: niche@tufts.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States, 01930
      • Recruiting
      • Tufts University (Investigator site) The Open Door (Recruitment & Intervention site)
      • Contact: Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, PhD, MPH; Phone Number: ‪(469) 240-9112‬; Email: niche@tufts.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants must meet all of the following:

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be a client of The Open Door food pantry in Gloucester, MA
• Be able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under age 18
• Unable to provide informed consent
• Have a food allergy, medical condition, or dietary restriction that makes it unsafe to eat the study foods (e.g., seafood or milk allergy, liquid diet)
• Another member of the same household is already participating (only one participant per household)
• Planning to move out of the area within the next 4 months
• Previously participated in a healthy meal kit program at The Open Door
• Do not have reliable transportation to pick up meal kits

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Medically supportive meal kits; Participants in this single-arm pilot study will receive a nutrition-focused meal kit intervention delivered through a community food pantry. Over a 12-week period, participants will receive three meal kits per week during their regular pantry visits. Each meal kit includes fresh produce, locally sourced seafood, and pantry staple ingredients (e.g., grains, seasonings), bundled together with simple, culturally relevant recipes designed to support preparation of healthy meals at home. In addition to meal kit distribution, participants will be invited to attend optional onsite cooking demonstrations led by community partners, which provide hands-on guidance for preparing the recipes and using the provided ingredients. Participants will also complete a baseline and follow-up survey, and a subset may be invited to participate in focus groups to share feedback on their experience with the program.

Behavioral: Medically supportive meal kits; Participants in this single-arm pilot study will receive a nutrition-focused meal kit intervention delivered through a community food pantry. Over a 12-week period, participants will receive three meal kits per week during their regular pantry visits. Each meal kit includes fresh produce, locally sourced seafood, and pantry staple ingredients (e.g., grains, seasonings), bundled together with simple, culturally relevant recipes designed to support preparation of healthy meals at home. In addition to meal kit distribution, participants will be invited to attend optional onsite cooking demonstrations led by community partners, which provide hands-on guidance for preparing the recipes and using the provided ingredients. Participants will also complete a baseline and follow-up survey, and a subset may be invited to participate in focus groups to share feedback on their experience with the program.; Other Names: Medically supportive groceries; Food is Medicine; Meal kits

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility and Acceptability of Medically Supportive Meal Kit Program	The primary outcome assesses whether providing meal kits with locally sourced seafood and produce through a food pantry is practical and well-received. This includes measures such as participation and retention rates, adherence to receiving meal kits, and participant feedback on satisfaction, ease of use, and cultural relevance of the meal kits and materials.	From enrollment to the end of the study (end of 12-weeks)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food security	Changes in participants' ability to reliably access enough food for an active, healthy life, measured using a standardized food security survey (USDA 6-item module).	From enrollment to the end of the study (end of 12-weeks)
Nutrition Security	Changes in consistent access to foods that support health and prevent disease, assessed using a brief validated screening tool (Tufts Nutrition Security Screener) focused on access to nutritious foods.	From enrollment to the end of the study (end of 12-weeks)
Cooking & Food Preparation Skills	Changes in participants' confidence and ability to prepare meals at home, including using new ingredients and following recipes, assessed through validated cooking skills measures using Lavalle et al. 2017.	From enrollment to the end of the study (end of 12-weeks)
Engagement in Nutrition Education	Participant exposure to and engagement with educational components, including attending cooking demonstrations and using recipes or educational materials provided with the meal kits.	From enrollment to the end of the study (end of 12-weeks)
Diet quality	Changes in overall dietary patterns and alignment with healthy eating recommendations, measured using a validated diet quality instrument (e.g., MINI-EAT).	From enrollment to the end of the study (end of 12-weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Tufts University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, PhD, MPH, Tufts University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 2, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 8, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 14, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 8, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: DASH diet; Food is Medicine; Medically supportive groceries; Local food
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00006728

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: IPD including the study protocol, informed consent form, and clinical study report will be uploaded into the Tufts Dataverse library.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Within a year of study completion
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Those who create an account and request access via Tufts Dataverse
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

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