FDPIR Directors, Staff and Key Stakeholders

Appendix C3. Stakeholder Interview Guide OMB Number: XXXX-XXXX Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Appendix C3.

Stakeholder Interview Guide

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 number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. It will take you, on average, 1 hour to complete this interview.

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEW GUIDE (1 hour)

Introduction to Project

Thank you again for agreeing to participate in this conversation. [INTRODUCE STAFF ON CALL]. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to assess the level of interest in nutrition education training for Food Distribution Program (FDP) staff at local program sites. The training would be sponsored by USDA’s FDP and would train FDP staff at Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) to provide nutrition education to FDPIR participants. At this time, there is no funding to conduct the training. We are gathering information to help us plan for the future.

USDA has contracted with 2M Research Services, LLC and Mathematica Policy Research to assess FDP staff interest in and willingness to participate in such training and to collect information on topics that should be included in the training. As a stakeholder who interacts with FDP staff and participants, you have a unique perspective and your input will be very useful in designing a training program that can be delivered to FDP staff at ITOs across the country. This conversation is about you sharing your knowledge, experience, opinions, and observations as an individual, as a member of [ORGANIZATION], and as someone familiar with the FDP. Again, thank you so much for your participation. We encourage open, honest dialogue and feedback.

We expect that this interview will take approximately 1 hour. The interview is voluntary; you may skip any questions that you do not wish to answer or stop the interview at any point. We will also be interviewing additional stakeholders and Food Distribution Program ITO directors and front line staff as part of this assessment.

Recording/Privacy:

We value what you say and we want to get it right. For this reason, a 2M/Mathematica staff member will be taking detailed notes during our phone interview, however, to make sure we fully and accurately capture our conversation we would like to also digitally record this conversation. Please note that these interviews are anonymous. The recordings will not be shared with anyone outside of the 2M/Mathematica team, except as otherwise required by law, and will only be used to ensure the accuracy of transcription. After the transcriptions are complete, all recordings will be permanently deleted. Any identifying information mentioned in the interview will be omitted from the final transcript--for example, if you mention your name or someone else’s name, it will not appear in the final transcript nor will it be used in data analysis.

• Do I have your permission to record this interview? [If yes]—Thank you, if at any point in this interview you would like me to stop this recording please just let me know and I will do so.

• Do you have any questions before we get started? [IF NEEDED: FDPIR PARTICIPANTS WILL NOT BE INTERVIEWED.]

[Note to interviewer: Stakeholders have been drawn from a variety of organizations and may not have sufficient knowledge or background to answer every question. If stakeholder is unable to respond to any questions, please move on to the next section of the assessment tool.]

A. Introduction (3 minutes)

First, we’d like to learn more about your general experience working with [ORGANIZATION] and with the FDP.

1. Please describe your role within your organization—your job description and your day to day experience.

1. What is your job title/Please confirm your job title?

2. How long have you worked in that role?

3. What are your main responsibilities?

4. How do you interact with the FDP in this role?

2. Have you received any formal nutrition education or training? If yes, please tell us more about any relevant certifications or degrees that you may have.

3. Please describe your experience leading and designing nutrition education trainings for FDP or ITO staff:

1. Have you previously designed training? Have you previously led any trainings? [IF NO, SKIP TO QUESTION 3D]

2. If yes, please tell us more about the focus of this/these training(s). Did the training(s) cover nutrition education?

3. Describe your experience designing or leading trainings in the past. Has it been positive? Negative? What did you like or not like about it?

4. Would you be willing to help design or lead a USDA training on nutrition education for FDP staff?

B. Background, Skills, and Experience of FDP Staff (5 minutes)

In this section I’d like to discuss the background, skills and experience of FDP staff who are most likely to interact with and provide nutrition information to FDPIR participants. [IF RESPONDENT INDICATES THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE FAMILIARITY WITH FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM STAFF CHARACTERISTICS, SKIP TO SECTION C]

1. Please describe the typical FDP staff member who is most likely to provide nutrition education or information to participants.

1. How would you describe the background, skills and experience of FDP staff who provide nutrition information and services to participants?

1. What proportion of FDP staff have prior nutrition work experience that helps them in their current role? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?]

2. What proportion of FDP staff have educational backgrounds that are directly relevant to nutrition or to their roles within FDP? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?]

3. IF STAFF HAVE RELEVANT EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: What proportion of FDP staff have a formal certification or degree in nutrition or a related area? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?] In what subject areas?

2. What proportion of FDP staff have the knowledge to talk about the nutrition benefits of FDP foods with participants? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?] Can they provide advice about food safety?

3. In what nutrition-related topic areas are FDP staff most knowledgeable? Least knowledgeable?

C. Availability of Other Nutrition Education Resources (10 minutes)

Next, I’d like to talk about the nutrition education training opportunities for FDP staff at ITOs that are currently or were previously available at your organization.

1. We would like to know about the availability and use of nutrition education training opportunities for FDP staff both currently and in the past. Are you aware of any nutrition education training opportunities that currently exist or were previously offered to FDP staff? [IF NO, SKIP TO QUESTION C.2.]

1. What organization provides/provided this training? PROBE: USDA or other organization.

2. What is/was the focus of these training opportunities (e.g., preparing FDP foods at home, physical activity, etc.) and which specific age/life cycle groups are/were covered? [Examples if needed: Children, elderly.]

3. Do you know whether FDP staff use/used these training opportunities? If so, how?

4. Do you know whether FPD staff find/found these training opportunities useful?

5. Do you know if FDP staff use the information they received during training to teach FDPIR participants about the topics covered?

6. In your opinion, do/did these trainings improve staff performance or knowledge?

2. In your opinion, are there any gaps or shortcomings in the nutrition education training opportunities that are currently available to FDP staff? What is missing or needed now?

1. Can you think of a scenario where staff were unable to assist an FDP recipient because they lacked training or knowledge in a specific area?

2. What can be improved or added to these training opportunities to make them more useful to staff for providing information to participants? Or more targeted to the needs of FDP recipients?

3. Are there any other nutrition education resources available to FDP staff? What types of resources are available? [Examples if needed: websites, fact sheets, FAQs, online modules] [IF NO, SKIP TO SECTION D]

1. Do you know whether FDP staff use/used these nutrition education resources?

2. Do you know whether FDP staff find/found these nutrition education resources useful?

3. In your opinion, are there any gaps or shortcomings in the nutrition education resources that are currently available? What could be improved or added to these resources to make them more useful to staff for providing information to participants? More targeted to needs of FDP recipients?

D. Motivation to Participate in Training (5 minutes)

Now, I’d like to get your opinions on what would motivate FDP staff to participate in a USDA-sponsored nutrition education training.

1. Do you think FDP staff would be interested in a USDA-sponsored nutrition education opportunities, if offered?

2. Why do you think FDP staff would attend such a training, if offered? What types of things would motivate them to participate, in your opinion? [Examples, if needed: to provide information to their community, for personal satisfaction]

3. How do you believe staff would react to receiving a certificate of recognition for completing the training? Would this be a source of motivation? A validation of their knowledge?

4. Can you share your thoughts on whether staff, after receiving training, may be willing to take on the role of an educator in their program, teaching what they’ve learned in the training to others?

E. Perceptions on Format/Delivery of Training (10 minutes)

The next series of questions is designed to capture what you think the best way to deliver training would be, if it were offered by USDA.

1. First, I’d like to ask for your opinions on when and how the training should be scheduled, if it is offered:

   1. In your opinion, how long should the training be? [Examples, if needed: one day, multiple days.] Would the training work better as a full day or as multiple half-days?

   2. Should the training be offered during the week or on the weekends?

   3. What is the best time of day to conduct the training? [Examples, if needed: morning, afternoon, evening.]

   4. Should staff be able to access the training at their own convenience (e.g., archived webinars), or should the training be provided only at specific days and times (e.g., classroom time)?

   5. Where should the training be held? [Examples, if needed: at a central training location or at multiple regional locations.]

   6. If the training is offered in-person, is distance to a central training location something the USDA should consider?

   7. Are there seasonal events during the year that USDA should consider when scheduling the training? [Examples if needed: celebrations, cultural, or traditional events specific to ITOs; gardening season; regional conferences or NAFDPIR conference (held in June); food package workgroup meetings]

2. Do you think programs would need refresher trainings due to staff turnover and/or knowledge deterioration? If so, how often should refresher trainings be offered?

3. Do you think that ongoing support services would be useful to staff that had already completed the training? Why/why not?

1. What types of support services would be useful? [Examples if needed: fact sheets, nutrition training reference guides or manuals, call-in or email technical support for questions, proctors or designated nutritionist contacts, training videos that can be accessed for review purposes.]

4. How many people do you think each training session should include? [Examples if needed: individual, small group, large group (ask respondent to clarify number of participants [e.g., 10-20, 20-30, etc.] if they specify small or large group).]

5. Do you think that the training should occur in-person, by conference call or video conference, through an online training module, through some combination of these formats, or in some other format?

   1. Do most FDP staff have reliable access to a computer and the internet?

   2. Are there training needs that require utilizing technological training modules (e.g., online training, webinars, live meetings, video conferencing)?

   3. What are the characteristics or competencies that educators who provide training to FDP staff should have? [Examples if necessary: reliable, prompt, detail-oriented, culturally sensitive, knowledgeable about adult learning theory, non-judgmental.]

6. Are there any specific training methods that should be included or have worked well when training staff in the past? [Examples, if needed: role-playing, guest trainers, case studies.]

1. Are there any training methods that do not work well or you would not recommend including?

7. Are there community members or persons other than FDP staff who should be trained to provide nutrition education to FDPIR participants?

F. Potential Education Topics (5 minutes)

Next, I’d like to discuss the value of including different topics in the nutrition education training, if it was offered.

1. I’d like your opinions on whether each of the following topics should be included in the training, if it was offered, and why:

1. Nutrient value of FDP foods

2. Eating more fruits and vegetables

3. Include more whole grains in the diet

4. Reducing fat/sugar/salt intake

5. Enjoying your food but eating less

6. Meal planning using FDP foods

7. Storing foods safely

8. How to prepare and use FDP foods

9. Gardening education with fruit and vegetable nutrition education

10. Reading nutrition labels

1. Are there any other topics that should be included that we haven’t discussed yet? If so, what are they?

2. In your opinion, what are the three most important nutrition education topics that should be included in the training? What three topics have do you believe FDP staff have already mastered (i.e., do not require further training)?

G. Training Preferences (5 minutes)

We’re almost to the end of our questions for today. Before we finish up, we’d like to hear your opinions about possible challenges that USDA might face if they decide to offer a nutrition education training to FDP staff.

1. In your opinion, what factors might prevent FDP staff from attending a nutrition education training, if it was offered?

1. Is distance to a central training location something USDA should consider?

2. Are there any cultural differences that might act as barriers? Are there any customs that may make training more meaningful for staff?

3. Would staff have difficulty obtaining childcare if trainings were to occur off-site?

4. Would staff have difficulty taking time away from regular work to attend training?

5. Are there any other challenges you can foresee that we have not yet discussed?

2. If USDA were to offer the training, they may also want to think about ways to measure whether the training was useful and gave staff the education they needed. They might do this by having staff fill out a questionnaire or a survey after attending the training. Do you think FDP staff would be willing to participate in these types of activities? Why/why not?

H. Wrap-Up (2 minutes)

We’ve reached the end of my questions.

1. Is there anything else that you would like to discuss today that we may have missed?

Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us today, and for sharing your thoughts. Have a great day.