Advance Letter Baseline Combined

LETTER TO:

FROM:

DATE:

PAGE: 0

[DATE]

[NAME]

[ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Dear [Salutation, NAME]:

About a month ago, you received a letter from [DISTRICT] telling you about an exciting new program called the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) for Children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is paying for the program. Families in the program will get an EBT card. The card is worth $60 for each school-aged child for each summer month. It can be used to buy food for the children at local stores.

That letter explained that there are more eligible children in your area than can get the program. It asked if you would be willing to be in a lottery to have a chance to get it. It also asked if you would be willing to be part of a research study to see how the program is working even if you were not picked to get the benefit. The study is authorized by Congress. Its purpose is to learn about and improve the diet and activities of children.

We are sending you this letter because you have been picked to be part of this study. We are contacting some of the families who were picked to get the benefit and some who were not picked. You will receive another letter in a few weeks telling you whether or not you were chosen to get the benefit.

As part of the study, USDA is working with Abt Associates Inc. and Mathematics Policy Research to conduct a telephone survey. An interviewer will be calling you within the next few days to ask you to participate in a short telephone survey. The interview will take about 25 minutes and you will receive a $10 gift card as a thank you once the interview is completed. Your participation is voluntary, but we hope you will choose to participate. All information collected during the survey will be kept private, as required by law. If you decide not to participate, it will not affect any government assistance you may be receiving. If you would like to complete the survey now, or want to schedule a convenient time for the telephone interview, please call 1-8xx-xxx-xxxx. You will be asked to provide survey ID # XXXXXX.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and helping make this important study a success!

Sincerely,

NAME

TITLE

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Remember: You can complete the survey now or schedule a convenient time by calling 1-888-xxx-xxxx. Don’t forget to provide your survey ID!