C4. Group 2—SFA Director Recruitment Confirmation Letter 2014.04.01

C4. GROUP 2—SFA DIRECTOR RECRUITMENT CONFIRMATION LETTER

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Michael Ponza

Project Director

(510) 830 3707

DATE, 2014

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Dear <SFA Director Prefix> < SFA Director_LN>:

Thank you for taking the time to discuss your SFA’s participation in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) with [RECRUITER NAME]. We are looking forward to working with your SFA on this important national study.

To confirm, the following schools will participate in the study:

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These schools will be expected to participate in on-site data collection activities as well as to complete a menu survey during a target week. We will work with you over the coming weeks to collect additional information necessary to plan the study. This will include a request for student rosters and contact information in order to select a sample of students and prepare invitations for those sampled to participate in the study. We will also set a target week between January and June 2015 and confirm basic school foodservice characteristics and points of contact at each participating school.

The following data collection activities will take place during the target week:

Menu Survey. School foodservice managers will be asked to complete a web-based survey during the target week. The Menu Survey collects detailed information on the foods offered and served in reimbursable lunches, breakfasts, and afterschool snacks (if offered) and a single day’s offerings of a la carte items. Also included with the Menu Survey will be a brief questionnaire that asks about foodservice operations in each school.

Online training tools will be available within the Menu Survey to instruct respondents on how to complete it correctly. A Mathematica technical assistant will also be available by phone or email to answer questions and offer assistance. It is critical that the Menu Survey be completed as fully and accurately as possible and during the agreed-upon target week.

We will provide a $50 check for foodservice managers after they complete the Menu Survey, in recognition of their conscientious efforts and important contributions to the study.

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

Student and Parent Interviews. Mathematica’s data collectors will interview a small sample of students and their parents to obtain information on student characteristics, dietary intake, and participation and satisfaction with school meals. Students’ height and weight will be measured as part of the interview. In support of the student and parent interviews, data collectors will ask foodservice managers to identify available points of sale to students at each meal, and to indicate which sampled students received reimbursable meals on a selected day.

Other data collection activities will take place outside the target week:

Competitive Foods Checklists. A staff member appointed by each school principal will be asked to complete a simple 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. Links to web-based surveys will be sent by email to you and each sampled school principal. The surveys will ask questions needed to characterize district policies, foodservice operations, and the school environment.

We have included letters addressed to each principal and kitchen manager, and enclosed copies of the USDA letter introducing the study and a study overview. These documents stress the importance of the study and describe the study’s activities. We would greatly appreciate it if you could distribute these materials to the appropriate individuals and express your support for the study. Participation in the study by selected states, districts, and schools is required under Section 305 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).

Thank you in advance for your participation in the SNMCS and for your assistance coordinating with foodservice managers and principals. This important study of the school meals programs could not completed without your support. We are looking forward to learning all that we can from you and your staff.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our project team at 1-888-xxx-xxxx, or e-mail [email protected].

Sincerely,

Michael Ponza

SNMCS Project Director

Mathematica Policy Research