A Farm-To-Table Meal Home Delivery Pilot Program for African American Pregnant Women in East St. Louis: Process, Implementation, and Impact Evaluation

Estimates indicate 14.2% and 10.9% of adults in St. Clair and Madison counties are food insecure. In November 2020, Sweet Potato Patch began providing African American prenatal care patients in these counties with ten healthy meals weekly, supplemented with nutrition education. On average, Sweet Potato Patch participants received 167 meals across 5 months, 3 weeks duration. Results from a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design showed significant decreases in food insecurity, fast food, sugar sweetened beverage and salty and sugary snack consumption, and increases in fruits and vegetables. Fifteen qualitative interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and content analyzed. The qualitative results supported the quantitative findings by illustrating how and why participants improved nutritional behaviors and reduced food insecurity.