State, Local and Tribal Agencies (Respondents)

OMB Control No: 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Appendix D22. Former Sponsor Key Informant Interview Guide

DATE OF INTERVIEW: [MM/DD/YYYY]

INTERVIEW START TIME:_________ INTERVIEW END TIME: ____________

INTERVIEWER ID:_______ NOTE TAKER ID: _______

INTRODUCTION (3 MINS)

Hello, I am [NAME] from Insight, and I am calling about the Summer Meals Study. May I speak with:

Name of former sponsor

R available ...................................................... 11

R lives here – needs appointment ...................12

R lives at another number or address ..............13

Never heard of R .............................................14

Phone company recording ...............................15

Answering machine .........................................16

Retry dialing ....................................................17

REFUSED .......................................................77

DON'T KNOW ................................................99

IF RESPONDENT IS AVAILABLE:

I would like to ask you some questions about the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)/Seamless Summer Option (SSO), to gain better understanding about program operations and factors that affect the decision of sponsors, sites, and households to participate in the program.

Your participation in this interview is voluntary. The information you provide will be kept private and will be disclosed to anyone outside of the research team, except as otherwise required by law. You have the right to stop at any time or skip questions. Whether you decide to participate or not will not affect any government benefits or services you or your organization receives – either now or in the future.

As described in the system of record notice (SORN) titled FNS-8, USDA/FNS Studies and Reports published in the Federal Register on April 25, 1009, volume 56, pages 19078-19080, FNS and contractors working on their behalf may collect and analyze this information for research purposes and are required to have safeguards in place to keep data private. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1991-04-25/pdf/FR-1991-04-25.pdf)

The interview should take about 30 minutes.

Do you agree to participate?

• YES

• NO  ADDRESS ISSUES/CONCERNS ABOUT STUDY. CODE AS REFUSAL.

Thank you. Before we begin, I would like to introduce my colleague, [NAME] also from Insight. [NAME] will be taking notes while we talk. With your permission, we would also like to record this discussion. The recording will be transcribed so that we can recall exactly what was said and correctly summarize the information you provide. The recordings, transcripts, and any notes we have will be stored on Insight’s secure server and will be destroyed after the project is complete.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

INTERVIEWER: ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT WESTAT/STUDY/TOLL-FREE NUMBER, ETC. AS NEEDED.

Do I have your permission to record this discussion?

• YES

• NO – clarify if willing to continue without recording but OK with note taking. Otherwise end interview.

IF NO, ADDRESS ISSUES/CONCERNS ABOUT STUDY. CODE AS REFUSAL.

INTERVIEWER: Turn on recorder and begin interview

SECTION A. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION

INTERVIEWER: DETERMINE IN ADVANCE WHETHER SPONSOR OPERATED SSO OR SFSP AND TAILOR QUESTIONS ACCORDINGLY.

I would like to begin our discussion by asking about your organization, its primary purpose, and the reasons your organization sponsored [Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)/Seamless Summer Option (SSO)] program sites.

A1. Can you tell me whether your organization’s primary purpose when you were in [SFSP/SSO] was to offer meals, or were ethe meals only one component of what you offered?

[NOTE TO INTERVIEWER: For example, a camp could operate primarily to provide programming/activities to children and the meals are only one aspect of their programming. In contract, a sponsor/site could only operate to provide meals.]

A2. Is your organization continuing to operate?

[IF YES:] Do you have the same services/programs/activities you had when you operated [SFSP/SSO]?

Do you still serve meals and snacks?

A3. For how long did your organization sponsor a [SFSP/SSO] summer meals program? Your best estimate is fine.

PROBE IF NEEDED:

For how many summers did your organization sponsor a program?

Probe for any breaks in sponsorship. Establish year(s) in which sponsored and year(s) not sponsored.

A4. When did your organization first sponsor the [SFSP/SSO]? Your best estimate is fine.

Year of first summer _______

A5. When did your organization last sponsor the [SFSP/SSO]? Your best estimate is fine.

Year of last summer _______

A6. Thinking about the last summer [year of last summer] in which your organization was a sponsor, how many summer meal sites did you sponsor for SFSP/SSO?

Number of summer meal sites sponsored ____________

A7. To the best of your recollection, how many weeks did your sites operate?

PROBE IF NEEDED: All summer? Most of the summer? Only a few weeks? Did this vary across the sites you sponsored?

[IF LESS THAN FULL SUMMER:] Would you like to have operated more days or weeks? What prevented you from doing so?

A8. What meals and snacks did your organization serve?

Meals/Snacks Served __________________

We are interested in understanding the reasons your organization participated as a sponsor for the [SFSP/SSO].

Thinking about your first summer experience as a sponsor…

(NOTE: the program may have been run before the respondent became the administrator and they may not know about the onset of the program – so questions are about the first time they were involved in the summer meal program as a sponsor)

A9. What were the reasons why your organization sponsored the [SFSP/SSO]?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

To fill a need in the community?

To receive funding to help support more nutritious meals?

Because advocacy organizations/others recommended or promoted it?

Because you knew other sponsors?

Because you were already serving meals without getting reimbursement?

A9a. What reasons were the most important in the decision to sponsor the program?

A10. How successful was the [SFSP/SSO] you sponsored?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

Did your program meet the needs of your community?

How did [SFSP/SSO] program attendance compare to other programs in the organization?

Did [SFSP/SSO] program attendance meet your expectations?

How did children react to the [SFSP/SSO] food?

What did parents think of the [SFSP/SSO] program?

What did senior leadership within the organization think of the [SFSP/SSO] program?

A10a. What made it successful?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

Meals are an added benefit of an already successful program (i.e., a camp or activity offered at the site)

Children already attend the site for another purpose

Quality/type of meals provided

Facilities

Site(s) location

Site(s) opening times

Marketing

Number of participating children

Free transportation

Activities for children

Staff

A10b. And, other than what you previously mentioned, what were some challenges in sponsoring the program?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

• Staff

• Training

• Budget

• Equipment

• Facilities

• Reaching children and families

• SFSP/SSO Policies/Rules

• Getting children to attend consistently

• Getting children to stay at the site to eat their meals

• Transportation for children to get to the site

• Lack of shelter from heat or rain

IF SPONSOR FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR:

A10c. Did these challenges vary from year to year?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

Thinking about the years you implemented the program, would you say the challenges were encountered each year or just in the few years/last year as a sponsor? Did you experience the same challenges each year?

SECTION B. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

B1. All things considered, what are your overall impressions of the SFSP/SSO?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

Would you say it is a good thing or not? Why do you say that?

SECTION C. PROGRAM NON-PARTICIPATION

Now let’s talk about the reasons why your organization stopped sponsoring the SFSP/SSO.

C1. Why did your organization stop sponsoring the program?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

• Staff?

• Training?

• Budget?

• Equipment?

• Facilities?

• SFSP/SSO program requirements?

• Not enough children attended?

• Getting children to attend consistently?

• Getting children to stay at the site to eat their meals?

• Transportation for children to get to the site?

• Lack of shelter from heat or rain?

C1a. What factors were the most important in the decision to no longer be a sponsor?

C2. How was the decision made to stop participating in the program?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

Who participated in the decision-making process?

Who ultimately made the decision to stop participating as a sponsor?

IF BREAK IN CONTINUOUS SPONSORSHIP MENTIONED ABOVE establish reasons for stopping/starting on more than one occasion.

C3. Which, if any, of the SFSP/SSO program requirements were especially challenging to implement? Why?

SECTION D. SPONSORSHIP OF OTHER PROGRAMS

D1. Does your organization now support or provide meals at any time during the year at any locations?

For example other school year meal programs such as afterschool care, meals for summer camp, meals provided through a food bank or other community program?

Do you charge participants for these meals? How much do you charge per meal?

Do you receive money or other support for these meals through another state, local, or private program?

IF YES:

D1.a. Which ones? Name(s)?

D1.b. What are the reasons why your organization sponsors or offers these programs instead of [SFSP/SSO]?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

• Need for free/low cost meals in the community

• Requests for those services from parents/other community members

• Funding is provided by the state or local government or another organization

• Don’t have to follow SFSP/SSO rules

• Can allow children to eat their meals away from the site

• Flexible scheduling and menus

SECTION E. FUTURE SPONSORSHIP

E1. Would your organization consider sponsoring the SFSP/SSO again? Why?

PROBE IF NEEDED:

What factors would make your organization re-consider participating again?

E2. What advice would you give to other organizations sponsoring or considering sponsoring the SFSP/SSO, to make it a success?

SECTION F. CLOSING

F1. The results of this study will help the USDA understand the successes and challenges of implementing this program. Is there anything else you think is important for us to know for this study? [PROVIDE TIME FOR RESPONDENT TO THINK OF AN ANSWER.]

Thank you for participating in the Summer Meals Study.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes 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. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 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 Services, Office of Policy Support, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx*). Do not return the completed form to this address.