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Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP) Study

Community-engaged Design and Implementation of a Behavioral Economics Food Choice Intervention in Food Pantries to Improve Cardiovascular Health

Who can join

Ages 18 and older · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Eligibility Criteria:

* Adults age 18 years or older
* Speak English or Spanish
* Access to a smartphone
* Have ordered from the online food pantry at least half of the available times over the past 6 pantry eligible periods (for example, at least 3 times in the past 6 weeks for online food pantries that allow weekly ordering or at least 3 times in the past 6 months for online food pantries that allow monthly ordering), during the 6-month period prior to implementation of the HOAP program (i.e., months -6 to -1)
* Plan to continue ordering from the online food pantry for the next 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

* Weigh more than 300 pounds
* Have a pacemaker, defibrillator, or other cardiac implant
* Plan to move out of metro Chicago in the next 6 months

About the study

This study will evaluate a digital nudge intervention, Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP), in the online food pantries of three large charitable food organizations. The study will use a hybrid effectiveness-implementation design, meaning it will evaluate whether the intervention works and how it can best be rolled out in an online food pantry setting. Intervention effectiveness will be evaluated using an interrupted time series analysis to identify changes in how healthy foods ordered by shoppers are (primary outcome) by comparing food ordering data over time before and after HOAP is introduced. The study will also evaluate the possibility of collecting dietary and clinical outcomes in a small subgroup of online pantry shoppers over time comparing both in-person and at-home approaches.

What is being tested

• Behavioral economics-based Healthy Options At Pantries (HOAP) digital nudge intervention (behavioral)

Sponsor: Northwestern University · Participants: 300 · Started: Aug 20, 2026

Contact the study team

• Emily Research Study Coordinator, MS · Phone: 312-503-4917

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07729436

Locations in the U.S.

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.