Free meal kits may ease stress for struggling rural families
NCT ID NCT06869993
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This pilot study tested whether providing free meal kits and a cooking app to 40 low-income families in rural Maine could improve food security, diet quality, and mental health. Caregivers and their children (ages 6-12) received weekly meal kits for 30 days and completed surveys before and after. The study aimed to see if the program was acceptable and feasible, and whether it reduced stress and family conflict.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- meal kit plus mobile culinary medicine education
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple, scalable way to reduce food insecurity and improve family well-being in rural areas.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study with only 40 families, no control group, and no long-term follow-up, so results may not apply broadly or show lasting effects.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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40 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Finished
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Jul 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * 18 years of age or older. * Legal caregiver for a child between the ages of 6-12 with whom they live at least 75% of the time. * Reside in rural county in Maine as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration. * Endorse food insufficiency within the past month on their screening questionnaire. * Able to speak and read in English. * Stable address with the ability to receive packages Exclusion Criteria: * Inadequate access (\<5 days/week) to a kitchen with refrigeration and heating elements to prepare meals. * Food-restrictive diet (i.e., veganism, gluten-free, dialysis-dependent, severe heart failure). * A household member with any anaphylactic food allergy. * No access to a smartphone with texting capabilities.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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MaineHealth
Portland, Maine, 04102, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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