# Lowering the Impact of Food insecurity in African American Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (LIFT-DM)

> **NIH NIH R01** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2020 · $639,435

## Abstract

Diabetes affects 9.4% of the US population and disproportionately affects African Americans (AAs) compared
to whites. Among individuals with diabetes, AAs and those living below the federal poverty level have poorer
metabolic control, higher complication rates and higher mortality compared to Whites and those living at the
highest income level. Food insecurity (i.e. an inability to or limitation in accessing nutritionally adequate food)
better predicts chronic disease than income, highlighting its importance as a modifiable factor. Almost 28% of
the US population with diabetes report food insecurity, compared to 12% of those without diabetes, and AAs
are 3 times more likely than whites to be food insecure. Food insecure individuals with diabetes have worse
glycemic control, report lower dietary quality and more difficulty following a healthy diet compared to those who
are not food insecure. Currently tested strategies to address food insecurity include food supplementation in
the form of: 1) vouchers to cover cost of food; 2) vouchers/coupons that can only be used at farmer’s markets;
and 3) shipments of pre-packaged food (stock boxes) to participants homes. However, important unanswered
questions in individuals with diabetes include: 1) Within food supplementation options, are mailed stock boxes
superior to food vouchers in terms of achieving glycemic control? 2) Is the combination of mailed stock boxes
and food vouchers superior to either food supplementation option alone? 3) Does providing diabetes education
in combination with food supplementation lead to improved clinical outcomes compared to education alone?
To address this gap in the literature, we propose an RCT to test the separate and combined efficacy of
monthly food vouchers to farmers market and monthly mailed food stock boxes layered upon diabetes
education in improving glycemic control in low income, food insecure, AAs with Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) using
a 2x2 factorial design.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9925809
- **Project number:** 5R01MD013826-02
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Leonard E. Egede
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $639,435
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-03 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9925809

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9925809, Lowering the Impact of Food insecurity in African American Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (LIFT-DM) (5R01MD013826-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9925809. Licensed CC0.

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