Appendix F. SFA Director Notification Letter

APPENDIX F

SFA Director Notification Letter

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OMB Control No.: 0584-0606

Expiration Date: 03/31/2019

<<DATE>>

<<SFA Director Name>>, School Food Authority Director

<<SFA Name>>

<<SFA Address>>

Dear <<SFA Director Name>>:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct the Outlying Areas Cost Study Feasibility Assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to determine the extent of information available about the costs of reimbursable meals for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Reimbursement rates for school meals sold in the contiguous 48 States and the District of Columbia are assessed periodically using a rigorous cost study methodology applied to a sample of public school food authorities (SFAs) and schools. That cost study methodology has never been applied in outlying areas, including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Mathematica and its partners, Insight Policy Research and Agralytica, will assess whether the methodology can help determine the cost of producing reimbursable lunches and breakfasts in these outlying areas. This study is important because an accurate assessment of meal costs in <<Alaska/Hawaii/Guam/Puerto Rico/the USVI>> could be used to adjust per-meal reimbursement rates in your <<State/Territory>>. The study is not an audit.

Your SFA has been selected to participate in the feasibility assessment. Someone from <<Mathematica/Insight/Agralytica>> will soon contact you to schedule a telephone interview with you and your district business manager, and answer any questions you have. The interview could take up to <<1.5/three>> hours. <<Mathematica/Insight/Agralytica>> will also request some documentation, such as annual expense and revenue statements, to review before the call. Gathering and submitting the documents could take up to <<one hour/1.5 hours>>.

After the interview, <<Mathematica/Insight/Agralytica>> may request your help contacting school principals and school nutrition managers in up to three schools in your SFA to conduct additional interviews at the school level.

Your participation is mandatory under Section 28 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. If you have any questions about the Outlying Areas Cost Study Feasibility Assessment, please contact Mathematica’s project director, Mary Kay Fox, at <<email address>>. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

<<State CN Director Name>>

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