# The UnProcessed Pantry Project (UP3): A Novel Approach to Improving Dietary Quality for Low-Income Adults Served by Rural Food Pantries

> **NIH NIH P20** · MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY - BOZEMAN · 2020 · $209,377

## Abstract

There is a need to develop evidence-based interventions that rural food pantries can use to limit the
distribution and intake of ultra-processed foods and promote the distribution and intake of minimally processed
foods in the food environment and among low-income populations to promote better dietary quality and health
outcomes. This research project, The UnProcessed Pantry Project (UP3): A Novel Approach to Improving
Dietary Quality for Low-Income Adults Served by Rural Food Pantries, uses the Social-Ecological Model to
target multiple levels, including the food supply in the rural study location (community level), the food
environment at the food pantry (environmental level), and participant dietary intake (individual level). Aim 1 will
adapt evidence-based strategies to inform UP3. UP3 will improve dietary quality by influencing the food supply
through organization-wide nutrition policies, modifying the food environment with minimally processed foods
and nudges, and changing participant dietary intake through experiential nutrition education. The UP3 pilot
study will be conducted during Aim 2 with 40 participants served by two rural food pantries in Montana. The
purpose of the pilot study is to investigate potential short-term effects on nutrient intake and dietary quality
(primary outcome), assess acceptability of UP3 among participants, and evaluate feasibility in rural food pantry
environments. It is hypothesized that UP3 will improve access to minimally processed foods and decrease
access to ultra-processed foods at the food pantry, which will improve overall dietary quality of individuals as
measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2015 compared to baseline. Demographic and food security data will
characterize the population. Psychosocial factors will be collected to understand changes in knowledge,
attitudes, and perceptions about processed foods. Biomarkers of health data (i.e., weight, systolic blood
pressure, HbA1c, inflammatory biomarkers, fasting lipid panel) will be collected to determine the feasibility of
measuring potential short-term health effects alongside UP3. Aim 3 will tailor UP3 for a scalable intervention
suited for an R01 grant application to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT). UP3 is positioned to
demonstrate the positive effects of limiting processed foods and increasing unprocessed and minimally
processed foods on diets and, potentially, health among low-income populations. The short-term goals of this
research are to develop an adaptable and scalable intervention suitable for rural food pantries serving low-
income populations, as well as potentially contribute to a knowledge base around potential short-term effects of
the minimally processed foods diet on dietary quality and health risks in those populations. The longer-term
goals are to test the efficacy of the intervention in an RCT and then disseminate the approach to be integrated
into rural food pantries serving low-income populations with the goal of de...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10000172
- **Project number:** 5P20GM104417-07
- **Recipient organization:** MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY - BOZEMAN
- **Principal Investigator:** Carmen Byker Shanks
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $209,377
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-15 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10000172

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10000172, The UnProcessed Pantry Project (UP3): A Novel Approach to Improving Dietary Quality for Low-Income Adults Served by Rural Food Pantries (5P20GM104417-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10000172. Licensed CC0.

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