C8. Group 2—Foodservice Manager Introduction Letter

C8. GROUP 2—FOODSERVICE MANAGER INTRODUCTION LETTER

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Michael Ponza

Project Director

(510) 830 3707

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<FSM_FN> <FSM_LN>

<School>

Dear <FSM_FN> <FSM_LN>:

Recently, your school was selected for the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) as part of your school food authority’s required participation in the study. Mathematica Policy Research is conducting the SNMCS for the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The study will examine the food and nutrient content of school meals offered and served, as well as meal costs and revenues. It will also provide needed information to assess the effects of the new nutrition standards on food service operations. The enclosed fact sheet provides an overview of the SNMCS.

The study will include several different data collection components at your school. The principal has been notified of these activities and the study team will coordinate directly with his or her staff (or a school liaison) on activities that do not involve foodservice operations. We will send professionally trained field interviewers to conduct interviews and make observations.

The following data collection activities are set to take place in your school food authority (SFA) and school during the 2014–2015 school year during a time we will schedule with your SFA director:

Menu Survey. You will be asked to complete a detailed Menu Survey. This web-based survey will collect information on the foods offered and served in reimbursable lunches, breakfasts, and afterschool snacks (if offered) during a target week, and a la carte foods available on a single day. There will also be a set of survey questions asking about foodservice operations and related policies. Instructions will be available with the survey and technical assistants will be available by phone and email to answer any questions. You will receive $50 as thanks for your conscientious efforts in completing the survey.

Cafeteria Observations. Data collectors will observe one lunch and one breakfast period (if your school participates in the School Breakfast Program) in each sampled school to document characteristics of foodservice operations.

Student and Parent Interviews. Data collectors will interview a small sample of students and their parents. Interviewers will obtain information on student characteristics, dietary intake, and consumption of and satisfaction with school meals. In support of the student and parent interviews, data collectors will ask you to identify available points of sale to students at each meal, and to indicate which sampled students received reimbursable meals on a selected day.

Competitive Foods Checklists. The school liaison will be asked to complete a set of forms detailing the availability to students of vending machine items and other sources of food such as school stores.

SFA Director and Principal Surveys. The SFA Director and Principal Surveys are web-based questionnaires that cover district policies and school characteristics related to foodservice operations, nutrition education and physical activity and education.

Your participation in this study is extremely valuable and we appreciate the time and effort that you will devote to the study. If you have any questions, please feel free to call a member of our project team at 1-888-xxx-xxxx, or email [email protected]. We look forward to working with you on this important study.

Sincerely,

Michael Ponza

SNMCS Project Director

Mathematica Policy Research