Appendix A.4. Email Notification from FNS to SDAs

Appendix A4: Email Notification from FNS to SDAs OMB Number: 0584-0613
Expiration Date: 02/28/2021

To: [State Distributing Agencies]

Subject: USDA Foods Distribution and Fees Survey

X/X/2020

Good afternoon,

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has contracted with 2M Research to conduct a brief, web-based survey of all State Distributing Agencies (SDAs) that participate in the USDA Foods for Schools program. The survey will collect important information about the fee structures that SDAs use for the distribution, warehousing, and administration of USDA Foods for school meals. The attached letter from Dana Rasmussen, Acting Director of the Food Distribution Division at FNS, provides further information about the survey and its purpose.

You will soon receive an email from 2M that will include a link to access the online survey. It is very important that all SDAs are represented in the data that this survey will collect. We ask that you complete the survey by [DATE].

The USDA/FNS contact person for this study is Alexander Bush, who can be reached by email at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[FNS REGIONAL STUDY LIAISON]

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in understanding fee structures for the distribution, warehousing, and administration of USDA Foods for school meals. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to better understand and compare how State Distributing Agencies manage the operations and distribution of USDA Foods to School Food Authorities. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 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 0584-0613. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 5 minutes (0.08 hours) per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, Floor 5, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0613). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Food and

Nutrition
Service

1320

Braddock

Place

Alexandria,

VA

22314

January 13, 2021

SUBJECT: USDA Foods Distribution and Fees Survey

Dear State Distributing Agency Director,

I am pleased to inform you about the upcoming USDA Foods Distribution and Fees Survey and ask for your participation and support. This 20-minute, online survey will be sent to all State Distributing Agency (SDA) directors. The survey will include questions about the operations, storage, and distribution of USDA Foods for school meals, including associated fee structures, warehouse operations, and the use of State Administrative Expense (SAE) funds. The information we collect from these questions will provide the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) with important information to allow us to better understand variations across SDAs that will inform policy development and technical assistance, as well as allow SDAs to learn from each other’s practices.

USDA has contracted with 2M research to conduct this survey. You can expect to receive an email from 2M shortly that will include a link to the survey, along with frequently asked questions (FAQs) and contact information should you require any technical support. Once you receive the survey link, you may share it with others in your office, should you wish to seek help from your colleagues in answering the questions. It is very important that we have all SDAs represented in this survey. We kindly ask that you complete the survey by no later than [DATE].

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the FNS representative for this study, Alexander Bush, at [email protected].

Thank you for your support of this important effort.

Sincerely,

Dana Rasmussen

Director, Food Distribution Division

USDA Food and Nutrition Service

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in understanding fee structures for the distribution, warehousing, and administration of USDA Foods for school meals. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to better understand and compare how State Distributing Agencies manage the operations and distribution of USDA Foods to School Food Authorities. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 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 0584-0613. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 5 minutes (0.08 hours) per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, Floor 5, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0613). Do not return the completed form to this address.