Impact of fruits and vegetables vouchers on food insecurity in disadvantaged families from a Paris suburb

BACKGROUND: Social inequalities in nutrition lead a high number of families to struggle with food insecurity, even in developed countries. We aimed to assess the impact of fruits and vegetables vouchers on food security among disadvantaged households from a Paris suburb. METHODS: We used a pre-post assessment design. Families answered face-to-face questionnaires on food consumption and food security status before and after a randomly assigned intervention. Households in the intervention group received vouchers to buy exclusively fruits and vegetables over one year. Both intervention and control groups benefitted from nutritional education through workshops performed by dieticians during the study period. The Household Food Security Module (HFSM) was used to assess food security status of households at inclusion. Food Insufficiency Indicator (FSI) was used to assess food security at inclusion and follow-up. Evolution of FSI on both groups was evaluated using McNemar test. RESULTS: Among the 91 families included between May 2015 and May 2016, 64 completed the post assessment questionnaire. At inclusion, 68.3% of families were experiencing food insecurity and 78.1% were experiencing food insufficiency. No association was found between food consumptions and food security status. After one-year follow-up, the prevalence of food insufficiency was significantly decreased in the intervention group (61.8%, with p value = 0.03), and unchanged in the control group. CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, food insufficiency was significantly decreased in families receiving vouchers for fruits and vegetables over a one-year period. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02461238, registered 3 June 2015 – Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02461238