Justification Memo to Increase Burden

DATE: August 2, 2010

TO: Julie Wise, OMB Desk Officer, Food and Nutrition Service

THROUGH: Rachelle Ragland Greene, Food and Nutrition Service, Information Clearance Officer, Ruth Brown, OCIO Desk Officer

FROM: Judy Wilson, Senior Nutrition Advisor, Office of Research and Analysis

RE: Change Justification Request for Approval to increase burden hours under Approved Generic OMB Clearance No. 0584-0524

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services is requesting approval to increase the annual responses and burden hours under the FNS Generic OMB Clearance No. 0584-0524.

The inclusion of the Healthier US Schools Challenge to the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign necessitates an increased focus on that area and the program wishes to modify the forms and add burden hours to that project.  The HUSSC initiative motivates and facilitates improvements in nutrition and physical activity in schools by collecting and sharing best practices and showcasing schools that have made positive steps in advancing implementation of wellness policies and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. HUSSC supports the congressional mandate regarding school wellness including development and implementation of such policies.

Additionally, other projects that will support the administration’s anti-obesity messaging and partnerships have come to light that will need 19,000 additional responses and 7,016 additional burden hours which will increase FNS burden inventory to 57,000 responses and 21,016 burden hours. 

The Administration’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015 and childhood obesity within a generation has intensified efforts to provide stakeholders with more comprehensive and timely information about successful and effective nutrition education and outreach methods, new or revised policies or changes in legislation, as well as ways to make it easier for schools to apply for (HUSSC) status. These information collection requests support these national goals of eliminating hunger and childhood obesity.