Mobile grocery market to bring healthy food to low-income neighborhoods
Official title: Evaluating Diet, Food Insecurity, and Food Purchasing Outcomes of a Full-Service Mobile Food Market with a Cluster Randomized Trial
Funded at University of Minnesota · NIH-11258989 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A grocery store on wheels will visit low-income neighborhoods to help adults, including people with type 2 diabetes, eat healthier, worry less about running out of food, and buy more nutritious items.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Minnesota NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project start | February 25, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $585,194 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NR020539-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11258989 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older living in low-income, low-food-access neighborhoods—especially those with or at risk for type 2 diabetes—are the ideal participants.
✕Less likely to help
People who already have reliable access to full-service grocery stores, live outside the mobile market's service area, or do not shop at the market are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
You or your neighborhood could be randomly selected to receive regular visits from a full-service mobile market that sells staple and healthy foods from a bus. Researchers will follow adults in participating communities over time to track changes in diet quality, food insecurity, and what people buy. They will also ask about personal, social, behavioral, and neighborhood factors that make people more or less likely to shop at the mobile market. The team will compare outcomes between neighborhoods with the mobile market and those without to understand the market's real-world effects.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the mobile market could improve access to healthy foods, reduce food insecurity, and help prevent or improve diet-related conditions like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
How similar studies have gone: Some pilot programs and small projects suggest mobile markets can improve access to healthy foods, but rigorous randomized evidence on their effects is still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Horning, Melissa L — University of Minnesota
- Study coordinator: Horning, Melissa L
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.