SFSP English Advance Letter BACKPACK 2011

[WITH STATE, SPONSOR, WESTAT AND FNS Logos]

DRAFT TEMPLATE

ADVANCE LETTER FOR BACKPACK PARENT SURVEY

2011 R1

OMB Control No.: 0584-NEW

Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average (insert time) hours [or minutes] per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx*). Do not return the completed form to this address.

<< Date>>

<<Name>>

<<Address>>

<<City, State Zip>>

Dear <<Honorific>> <<Last Name>>

We’d like your children to join an activities program at <<LOCATION>> for <<#>> weeks this summer. The program provides them meals during the day and a backpack of weekend meals. The program is sponsored by <<PROVIDER>>. The meals are provided by <<STATE>> through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-80, Sec. 749(g).

To sign your child up for the program, please contact <<PROVIDER>> at <<TELEPHONE>> or go to <<ADDRESS>> between <<HOURS>>.

If your child joins this program, we may ask you to take part in a study sponsored by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. We’d like to find out if your children like the activities and the meals and get your ideas on how we can make it better.

Taking part in the study means that we’ll call you with questions about the program four times over the next two years. We’ll call in July and September of this year. If your children take part in next year’s program, we’ll call twice in the summer of 2012. Westat, a research company, will conduct the interviews for <<STATE AGENCY>>. We’ll ask questions about your household, how happy your children are with the foods and the program, and whether your household takes part in other food programs.

It’s your choice. You decide whether you want to take part in the study. If you don’t want to answer our questions, your children can still take part in the summer program. The first interview takes about 30 minutes. The other three interviews will be shorter. We’ll send you $20 after each interview as a thank you for your time.

Everything you say in the interviews will be private. The information you give us won’t be seen by anyone other than the people conducting this study, except as otherwise required by law. Your information will be combined with information from other people taking part in the study. That way no one’s answers can be identified.

We look forward to seeing your children in our program this summer. We hope that you’ll agree to answer our questions. Your participation in this important study for <<STATE AGENCY>> will help us learn how the summer food program is working.

Thank you, <<PROVIDER>>