This US study examined whether food bank provision of self-management support and diabetes-appropriate food improves glycaemic control among clients with diabetes. The researchers screened 5,329 adults for diabetes at 27 food pantries affiliated with food banks in Oakland (California), Detroit (Michigan), and Houston (Texas), between October 2015 and September 2016. A total of 568 participants with haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥7.5% were randomised to waitlist control or a 6-month intervention including food, diabetes education, health care referral, and glucose monitoring. At 6 months, the intervention was associated with significant improvements from baseline in food security (RR 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.98), food stability (RR 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.93), and fruit and vegetable intake (risk difference [RD] 0.34; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.34). However, there were no such improvements at 6 months in measurements of self-management (depressive symptoms, diabetes distress, self-care, hypoglycaemia, self-efficacy) or HbA1c (RD 0.24; 95% CI, −0.09 to 0.58).
