Increasing Access to Healthier Foods for Rural Latino Communities Through a Community Health Worker-Led Grocery Store Program

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of The Value of Our Health Our Value, a program designed to promote fruit and vegetable consumption among people living in rural Latino communities in central Washington State. This study aims to address social and structural barriers such as limited access to fresh produce and long travel distances to stores. The trial uses a hybrid type I cluster-randomized controlled design to test the interventions impact on healthier food access and consumption. The intervention lasts 12 months and is delivered in small, independent grocery stores by community health workers CHWs. During the first 6 months, CHWs lead structural and social change activities, provide training to store staff, and engage customers with strategies promoting fruit and vegetable purchasing. In the following 6 months, store managers and employees continue these activities with CHW technical assistance to maintain the changes. Control stores do not receive the intervention during the measurement period. Participants are customers who shop at these stores and meet eligibility criteria, such as identifying as Latino or Hispanic and being the primary household shopper. Researchers will collect customer surveys to measure fruit and vegetable consumption at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. The study monitors changes in purchasing and eating habits to assess the interventions effectiveness in reducing chronic disease health disparities. The trial is expected to complete by May 2029.

Nuestro Valor: Increasing Healthier Food Access for Rural Latino Communities Through a Food Retail Intervention