Team Nutrition Educational Materials for Summer Meals - SLT (IC1 of 2)

OMB Control #0584-0524| Expiration Date: 06/30/2016 |Page 7

Attachment H: Individual Interview Guide for Site Operators

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT:  According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0524. The time to complete this information collection is estimated at 45 minutes, including the time for reviewing instructions and completing the information.

Section I. Getting to Know Each Other (3 minutes)

Hello, my name is _____________ and I’m a researcher from the Michael Cohen Group. I am collecting feedback on the summer meals nutrition education materials you used this summer that were provided by United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Thank you for participating in this 45-minute interview; your input as a Summer Meals Site Operator is very important to us. The nutrition and physical activities you were asked to try out this summer were arranged by themes and included a variety of activities, recipes, parent handouts, and promotional materials. We want to know what you thought about these materials from an operator’s perspective and whether you thought the activities were practical and beneficial for your summer meals site(s).

Before we begin, I want to say a couple of things:

• There are no right or wrong answers here -- we just want to know what you think. Whatever your opinion may be, it will be very helpful for us to hear it.

• I did not make any of the materials we’ll be talking about today, so it’s ok for you to be totally honest. Your responses won’t hurt my feelings.

• Your name won’t be attached to anything you say here. Only an ID number will be used to identify all data. Your name will not be listed in any reports or shared with others unless otherwise required by law.

• If it’s ok with you, we’d like to record this conversation. It will only be used to confirm our notes and allow us to revisit this conversation. Any transcriptions of this conversation will not include any names. Is that ok with you?

• This interview is strictly voluntary and you are not required to answer any question that’s asked and you may stop at any time.

Do you have any questions before we begin? I’m going to start with a few general questions.

Section I. Overview Questions (20 minutes)

• How many adults were involved in helping at this particular site this summer? Were they staff or volunteers?

  • (Probe: Who lead the activities at your site?)

• How long did children typically spend at your site each day?

  • (Probe: Do the same children attend on a regular basis?)

• Should summer meal sites play a part in nutrition education? Why/Why not?

• How important is it to limit children’s time spent watching TV or playing computer games during the summer?

• Had you ever previously conducted any extra enrichment activities at your summer meals site, like arts and crafts, games, sports, or educational activities?

  • (Probe: What were those like?)

  • (Probe: Where did you find information on how to conduct those activities?)

  • (Probe: How did the nutrition education activities you tried this summer compare to activities you may have conducted in previous years?)

• (Probe: What are your experiences in offering and getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables as part of summer meals?)

• Before these activities and nutrition education materials, what did you know about MyPlate? Power Panther? What did you learn?

• Thinking about your site and all the nutrition education activities you tried out over the last few weeks, how do you feel about your experience?

• What would you say are the main messages the nutrition education activities and materials were trying to communicate to children and parents?

  • (Probe: Do you believe the nutrition education activities did a good job communicating these messages?)

  • (Probe: Do you think the activities motivated the children to make healthier food choices or engage in more physical activity?)

• Which activities were the most successful?

  • (Probe: Which activities did the children enjoy the most?)

  • (Probe: Did you receive any parent feedback?)

  • (Probe: Which were the easiest to implement?)

  • (Probe: Most worthwhile?)

• Were the activities age-appropriate for the children that attended your site? Were your children too young, too old, just the right age for these activities?

  • (Probe: About how old are the children who typically attend your site?)

• What were the biggest barriers to completing activities?

  • Which activities were you unable to complete. Why?

  • How did you feel about the time it took to prepare the activities? For implementing the activities?

• In your opinion, did the activities have any influence on attendance at this summer meals site?

Section II. Operator Booklet (3 minutes)

• What information did you get from the Operator Booklet? [Note: Moderator will hold up a copy of the Operator Booklet, see Attachment M]

• Do you think the information in the Operator Booklet was helpful in preparing you to lead the activities?

• Is there anything else that should be included in the Operator Booklet?

• Do you have anything else you would like to add or suggest for the Operator Booklet that would help sites implement these activities next summer?

Section III. Themes/Activity Guides (5 minutes)

• What did you think of the Activity Guides? [Note: Moderator will hold up copies of the Operator Activity Guides, see Attachment N]

  • (Probe: Was the layout of the Guides easy to follow?)

  • (Probe: Were the instructions clear?)

• Was it easy to understand what the main message was for each activity (Probe: increase fruit and vegetable consumption, decrease sugar-sweetened beverages, decrease screen time, increase physical activity)?

• What are your thoughts about organizing activities by themes?

  • (Probe: Which themes were the most popular?)

  • (Probe: Were any themes not popular?)

  • (Probe: What other themes would you suggest?)

• What else would you like to have seen in the Guides (Probe: Suggested materials, instructions, information)? Would you use these materials/do these activities in the future? How?

• Did you have to modify the activities for your site? How? Why?

• To what extent would the activities be possible if you weren’t provided with a stipend?

Section IV. Food Preparation Activities (5 minutes)

Thank you for your feedback on the Activity Guides. Now I’m doing to ask you some questions about the recipes that you were asked to complete at your site.

• What was your role in the food preparation activities?

  • (Probe: What was your experience in that role?)

  • (Probe: Who else did you need to coordinate with to complete these recipes?)

• Had you done food demonstration or food preparation activities with children at your summer meals sites in the past? Why/Why not?

• What did you think of the recipes provided?

  • (Probe: Were the recipes appropriate for a summer meals site)?

  • (Probe: Were the food preparation instructions easy to follow)?

  • (Probe: Did children like them)?

• Were there any unique challenges or barriers to completing the food preparation activities?

• To what extent would the recipes be possible if you weren’t provided with a stipend?

• Would you do these food preparation activities in the future? Why/Why not

Section V. Promotional Materials and Social Media Outreach (7 minutes)

Now I have a few questions about the promotional materials and suggested messages in the Operator Activity Guides (Note: Moderator will hold up copies of the promotional materials, see Attachment O, and messages in the Operator Activity Guides, see Attachment N).

• What do you think of the promotional flyers, posters, and other materials that went with the nutrition education materials?

  • (Probe: How did you use the promotional materials?)

    • (Probe: flyer, poster, and postcard)

  • (Probe: Which were the most useful?)

  • (Probe: Did you use the materials in Spanish?)

• How many posters would you need for your site? Were they the right size?

• Did you use any of the social media messages (Probe: Facebook or Twitter)?

  • If yes: Which of these social media platforms did you use? Were they well received?

  • If no: Why not?

• Did many parents attend your summer meal site? To what extent do you think the promotional materials encouraged parents to attend?

• How do you typically communicate with families?

  • (Probe: Do you have any suggestions for how best to communicate with families? What else would you rather see?)

Section VI. Family Activity Guides (2 Minutes)

The last set of questions refers to the Family Activity Guides.

• Did you hand out the Family Activity Guides? Which ones? Why or why not? [Note: Moderator will hold up copies of the Family Activity Guides, see Attachment P]

• How many parent handouts would you need for your site?

• Did you receive any feedback from the parents or children about the information on the handouts?

You have been great and have helped me a lot.

Thanks so much for talking with me today!