JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Preschool-aged children (2-5 years) living in households experiencing food insecurity (FI) are at a higher risk of facing health and behavioral issues as well as consuming lower quality diets with fewer fruits and vegetables (FV). Repeated exposures are necessary for children to accept certain commonly rejected/disliked foods, but parents in households experiencing FI may not purchase foods their child does not readily accept. Project V.E.G.G.I.E. (Vegetable Eating Gets Going by Increasing Exposure) aims to address this issue by providing families with FVs at no cost alongside education on evidence-based parent-feeding practices tailored to the needs of preschool-aged children.

Objective:

This study describes the protocol for the Project V.E.G.G.I.E. pilot/feasibility study.

Methods:

The Project V.E.G.G.I.E. study includes 20 dyads: parents and their preschool-age children. Families received six boxes of fresh FV biweekly for 10 weeks alongside educational materials on parent feeding practices. Parent surveys and daily diaries were completed at three time points: baseline, post-test (weeks 10-11) and follow-up (4 weeks after intervention). Participants in the intervention group also completed an exit survey to assess the acceptability and utility of the FV boxes across several domains including: quantity, quality, and variety. Standard effect size estimates (Cohen’s d) will be calculated as baseline to post-test and baseline to follow-up analyses. Lastly, both control and intervention participants were invited to complete a qualitative interview to discuss satisfaction with the program.

Results:

The Project V.E.G.G.I.E. program was funded internally by the Department of BLINDED FOR PEER REVIEW at BLINDED University. Recruitment began in February 2025, and data collection took place from March – July 2025. Data cleaning is underway at the time of submission (February 2026); we expect to submit the outcome/feasibility manuscript in Spring 2026.

Conclusions:

The results of the Project V.E.G.G.I.E. study will be used to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of this pilot intervention. Feedback will inform refinement of the Project V.E.G.G.I.E. intervention and study protocol prior to scaling up to a well-powered cluster randomized controlled trial. Implementing programs like Project V.E.G.G.I.E. that provide families with increased access to FV at childcare settings may overcome barriers typically associated with FV initiatives. Providing families with both increased access to FV and education on parent-feeding practices may be more effective at increasing FV consumption among preschoolers than either approach implemented independently.