Food pantries get a green light for healthier choices
NCT ID NCT05854212
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether using behavioral economics—like making healthy options easier to see—can encourage food pantries to order more nutritious foods. Researchers will give some pantries a special online ordering tool with a traffic light ranking system (green for healthy, red for less healthy). They will track if these pantries order more green-labeled foods over 12 months compared to pantries without the tool.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Behavioral economics-enhanced user interface
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could help food pantries offer healthier options to people in need, improving community nutrition.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study focused on behavior change, not a direct health treatment. Results may not apply to other food banks or lead to lasting dietary improvements.
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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About 364 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jan 2027
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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 to 90 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Food agencies that order food from the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) online ordering platform. Exclusion Criteria: * Food agencies that do not order food from the GBFB online platform within 2 months of the start of the study.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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