2012 Justification for Increase Response/Burden Hours

DATE: July 24, 2012

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.

Issuance of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines(DGAs), MyPlate, and HHFKA have resulted in new requirements and policy changes in the food/nutrition requirements and nutrition education components of several of the nutrition assistance programs (School Meals, WIC, SNAP, FDPIR). These new requirements make it necessary for the agency to revise current resources and develop new ones to facilitate adaption of the new regulations and guidance.

FNS is formulating a number of initiatives to aid State and local agencies in making needed improvements in nutrition and physical activity programs. Furthermore, to support the Administration’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015 and childhood obesity within a generation, the FNS has intensified its efforts to provide both stakeholders and the target audience with more timely, comprehensive resources that are more like to motivate them to act. In order to accelerate early implementation of the new provisions, the agency believe is moving forward in a proactive manner to make audience-tested resources and tools available to stakeholders so that it is easier for them take action in a way that gets results and helps achieve our mutual goals.

In addition to updating current resources to reflect the new DGAs and regulatory requirements, FNS is formulating related behavior-focused materials for use by consumers and stakeholders in WIC, child nutrition, SNAP and for cross-program audiences. As result, the agency needs 22,000 additional responses and 12,000 additional burden hours. Approval will increase burden inventory for # 0584-0524 to 79,000 responses and 33,016 burden hours.