A3. Study Research Questions and Associated Data Collection Instruments

Appendix A3. Study Research Questions and Associated Data Collection Instruments

Research Question		Survey Instruments						Qualitative Interviews
		Participant Caregiver	Teen Participant	Child Participant	Nonparticipant Caregiver	Teen Nonparticipant	Site Survey	Participant Caregiver QI	Nonparticipant Caregiver QI
Objective 1: Evaluate why children and their caregivers participate in SFSP and their satisfaction with SFSP.
1.2b	What are the most important factors when deciding to participate in SFSP (e.g., hours of operation, site location, staff, transportation, site activities, meal service)?	X	X		X	X		X
1.2c	What deters children and their families from participating in SFSP?	X			X			X
1.2c.i.	For children, does this vary by age?	Analysis
1.3a	Do children find the meals appealing and satisfying?		X	X	X	X		X
1.3b	If applicable, do caregivers believe the meals are appealing and satisfying to their children?	X	X		X			X
1.3c	What factors lead to children and caregivers finding the meals appealing or unappealing, and satisfying or not satisfying?	X	X	X	X			X
1.4a	How frequently are participants attending SFSP sites?	X	X			X		X
1.4b	Does their participation fluctuate over the summer?	X						X
1.4c	Are participants attending the sites as often as desired? Why or why not?	X						X
1.4d	What are the most common reasons cited by participants and their caregivers on how often they attend, what could improve their attendance, and what are the barriers and facilitators for their attendance?	X	X					X
1.5a	What is participants’ and caregivers’ overall satisfaction with the program?	X	X		X			X
1.5b	Do participants and caregivers recommend SFSP to other families?	X	X		X	X		X
1.6a	Do caregivers plan for their child to participate in SFSP next summer?	X	X		X	X		X
1.6b	What are the key reasons for deciding, or not deciding, to participate in SFSP next summer?	X						X
Objective 2: Collect characteristics of SFSP participating families and eligible, nonparticipating children and their families.
2.1a	What is the current food security status of the families?	X			X
2.2a	What are the demographics of the children and their families (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, income)?	X	X	X	X	X	X
2.3a	Do children and families participate in other federal assistance programs? If so, which ones?	X			X
2.3b	Do children and families participate in other meal programs (e.g., NSLP, SBP, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP))? If so, which ones?	X			X
2.4a	Do the children and families participate in other summer meal programs (i.e., SEBTC, Seamless Summer Option (SSO)? If so, which ones?	X			X			X
2.5a	What are the typical child care arrangements in the summer?	X			X				X
2.5b	Do the families participate in other summer programs?	X	X		X			X
2.6a	What are the families' available means of transportation to the SFSP site?	X
2.6b	Does the site provide transportation?	X					X
2.6bi	If so, do the families have to pay for it?	X					X
2.7a	What is the average distance to SFSP sites for children and their families?	X
2.7b	Are families aware of/attending the closest SFSP site?	X			X	X		X
2.8a	Do SFSP participating families and non-participating families differ by food security status, demographics, participation in other federal assistance programs, summer childcare arrangements, and proximity to SFSP sites?	Analysis
Objective 3: Assess why eligible children and families do not participate in SFSP using a subsample of non-participants.
3.1a	Have eligible, non-participating children and families heard of the summer program?				X				X
3.1a.i	If not, what are the best ways for summer sites to provide them with this information?				X				X
3.1a.ii	If so, what are their perceptions of the program?				X	X			X
3.2a	What are the most common reasons cited by non-participants and their caregivers for why they do not attend SFSP programs?				X	X			X
3.2a.i	What could get them to attend (e.g., accessibility, activities, cost, etc.)?				X				X
3.2a.ii	What are the barriers for their attendance?				X				X
3.3a	Have eligible nonparticipants ever participated in SFSP?				X	X			X
3.3a.i	If so, why do they no longer participate?				X	X			X
3.3b	What could have facilitated retention in the program?				X				X
3.4a	Do eligible, non-participating children live in an area eligible for SFSP?	Analysis
3.4a.i	If not, what is the average distance for these children to reach an area eligible for SFSP?	Analysis

Research Question		Survey Instruments				Qualitative Interviews
		Sponsor Survey	Site Survey	Menu Planning Survey	Site Menus	Sponsor QI	Site QI	Former Sponsor QI
Objective 4: Describe the foodservice characteristics of SFSP sites attended by study participants.
4.1a	What type of meals do sites most often serve (e.g., lunch and snack, breakfast and lunch, etc.)?		X
4.2a	Where do sites obtain food for meals and how is the food transported?	X		X		X	X
4.2b	What percent of sites offer vended meals?			X
4.3a	What are the sites’ food storage capacities (e.g., refrigerator/freezer capacity, pantry, etc.)?		X
4.3b	What are the sites’ food preparation and/or cooking capacities (range, oven, microwave, etc.)?		X
4.3c	Is the site equipped to serve hot meals?		X
4.4a	Who plans the menus (e.g., sponsor, vendor, site, etc.)?	X	X	X		X	X
4.4b	What influences a site’s menu planning practices (e.g., sponsor guidance, training, participant preferences and equipment availability, etc.)?			X		X	X
4.4c	Are cycle menus used?			X
4.4c.1	If so, how often?			X
4.4d	How frequently is offer versus served (OVS) being utilized?		X
4.5a	Where and when are the SFSP meals and snacks served?		X
4.5b	What are the characteristics of the eating facilities?		X
4.5c	How long are participants given to eat the meals?		X
4.6a	What type of meal service do the sites utilize (e.g., family-style, plated, etc.)?		X
4.7a	How frequently are local, seasonal and/or USDA foods offered?			X		X	X
4.7b	If offered, what are the most frequent types of these foods offered?			X
4.8a	What percent of sites offer à la carte foods?		X
4.8b	Are those foods for purchase, where are they sold and by whose control?		X				X
4.8c	What are the most frequent à la carte foods offered?		X				X
4.9a	What policies and procedures are used to accommodate children with food allergies or other special dietary needs?	X	X				X
4.9b	What policies and procedures are used to adjust the serving sizes of foods by different age groups?		X				X
4.9c	What policies and procedures are used to ensure food safety?	X	X
4.10a	For school-sponsored SFSP sites (e.g., academic summer schools), how often do the sites continue to utilize their NSLP and SBP menus during the summer months?			X
4.10b	What are the key reasons for continuing to use NSLP and SBP menus?			X
4.11a	What percent of sites have approval to prepare meals according to the CACFP meal standards?			X
Objective 5: Assess the characteristics and content of SFSP meals and snacks.
5.1a	What specific food items are offered the most often?				X
5.1b	Least often?				X
5.1c	What are the most frequent food items offered among each of the SFSP meal component groups?				X
5.2a	How many choices are participants offered for various menu elements, e.g., milk, grains, meat/meat alternates, fruits, vegetables, other foods (desserts, salty-snacks etc.)?				X
5.3a	What are the most frequent types of fruits and vegetables offered?				X
5.3b	How frequently do meals include both a fruit and vegetable?				X
5.3c	How frequently are the following vegetable subgroups offered: dark-green vegetables; red and orange vegetables; starchy vegetables; beans and peas; and other vegetables?				X
5.3c.i	What are the most frequent vegetables offered from each of the subgroups?				X
5.3d	Which forms of fruits/vegetables are offered most often (fresh, canned, frozen, dried)?				X
5.3e	How frequently are fruit and vegetable juices served and how frequently are they 100% juice?				X
5.4a	How frequently are whole grains, lean meats/meat alternates and low–fat/fat-free dairy products offered?				X
5.4a.i	What are the most frequent types of these foods?				X
5.5a	How often are other foods that do not qualify as a SFSP meal component offered?				X
5.5b	What are the most frequent types of these other foods?				X
5.6a	How frequently are foods high in solid fats, added sugars and/or sodium offered?				X
5.6b	What are the most frequent types of these foods?				X
5.7a	How do the foods offered vary from day to day and from week to week?				X
5.8a	Are foods served in a way that eases consumption by younger children (e.g., pre-sliced apples, pre-peeled oranges, etc.)?				X
5.8b	If so, how frequently does this occur				X
5.8b.i	and with what specific food items overall and by different age groups?				X
5.9a	How do the meals and snacks adhere to the SFSP meal requirements?				X
5.10a	How do the SFSP breakfasts and lunches compare to the meal patterns and nutritional standards for SBP and NSLP?				X
5.11a	What is the distribution and average nutrient content overall and for each type of meal offered/served, including snacks, in a typical week?				X
5.12a	What are the major food sources of calories and key nutrients in the meals and snacks offered, including at a minimum, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, vitamin C, vitamin A, iron and fiber?				X
Westat	What is the contribution of meals/snacks towards meeting the DRI?				X
Westat	What is the combined contribution (all meals/snacks) toward meeting the DRI?				X
Objective 6: Assess the facilitators and barriers to preparing and serving SFSP meals.
6.1a	What do sponsors and sites believe constitutes a healthy meal?					X	X
6.1b	What are the greatest challenges in planning and preparing healthy summer meals?			X		X	X	X
6.1c	Do sponsors and sites feel that they have the tools and resources to prepare healthy and reimbursable meals that are well-liked by participants?			X		X	X
6.1c.i	If so, what are those tools and resources (e.g., Team Nutrition, MyPlate, USDA Healthy Meals Resource System, USDA Summer Meals Toolkit, and USDA What’s Cooking? Recipe Bowl, etc.)?			X
6.1c.ii	If not, what tools and resources do sites need to prepare those types of meals?			X		X	X
6.1d	What limitations, if any, do sponsors and sites have in accessing tools and resources?			X		X	X
6.2	What are the reasons for deciding to prepare meals on-site versus serving vended meals?					X	X
6.3a	Do sponsors and sites try to incorporate local foods as part of their menus?			X		X	X
6.3a.i	If so, what are the benefits and challenges when serving local foods?					X	X
6.4a	Do sponsors and sites feel that the meals served are well-received by participants?					X	X
6.4a.i	Why or why not?					X	X
6.4b	Do more participants show up on days when certain meals are served?						X
6.5a	For vended meal sites, do sponsors and sites collaborate with the vendor on meal planning and preparation?					X	X
6.6a	Are participants’ likes and dislikes, as well as cultural and ethnic practices, considered when planning meals?			X		X	X
6.6a.i	If so, how?					X	X
Westat	Reasons for no longer participating in SFSP							X