Grocery Support Program with DASH Diet Guidance Reduces Blood Pressure in Black Adults from Food Deserts

A grocery support program providing home-delivered groceries and dietary counseling based on the low-sodium DASH eating plan reduced blood pressure levels in Black adults living in areas with limited access to grocery stores, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The study, simultaneously published in JAMA, found that participants who received both grocery deliveries and dietitian guidance experienced greater improvements in cardiovascular health markers compared to those who received only financial stipends for self-directed grocery shopping.

The research enrolled 180 Black adults from Boston-area neighborhoods classified as food deserts. Participants were randomly assigned to either receive 12 weeks of home-delivered DASH-patterned groceries tailored to their caloric needs plus weekly counseling with a dietitian, or three $500 stipends every four weeks for self-directed grocery shopping without dietary counseling. The DASH eating plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, beans, nuts, and legumes while limiting fatty meats, salt, sweets, added sugars and sugary beverages.

After the 12-week program, participants in the DASH group showed an average systolic blood pressure decrease of 5.7 mm Hg, compared to only 2.2 mm Hg in the stipend-only group. The DASH group also experienced significant reductions in LDL cholesterol levels (8 mg/dL) and diastolic blood pressure measurements (2.4 mm Hg). However, when researchers monitored participants for an additional three months after the program ended, they found that blood pressure and cholesterol levels had returned to pre-study measurements in both groups.

Lead study author Stephen P. Juraschek, M.D., Ph.D., from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, noted that the study demonstrates people can make healthy food choices with proper resources and support. "This study is significant because it is focused on helping people eat healthier, more nutritious foods they can purchase in a regular grocery store," Juraschek said. The findings align with the American Heart Association's Food Is Medicine Scientific Statement, which emphasizes the potential of incorporating healthy food into health care for people with or at high risk for chronic conditions.

The research was funded by the American Heart Association's Health Equity Research Network on Hypertension and contributes to the organization's broader Health Care by Food initiative. The study's limitations include its short timeframe and geographic concentration in one area, though the results underscore how social barriers like food access and cost impact nutritional choices and cardiovascular risk factors. The temporary nature of the improvements suggests that sustained interventions may be necessary to maintain health benefits in populations facing structural barriers to healthy eating.