Appendix C1.a Pre-Survey Notification Letter (Web Survey)

Appendix C1.a. Pre-Survey Notification Letter (Web Survey)

X/XX/20XX

To: [SELECTED SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITY DIRECTORS]

Subject: Study of School Food Authority (SFA) Procurement Practices

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]:

[SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITY] has been selected to participate in the Study of School Food Authority (SFA) Procurement Practices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has contracted with 2M Research (2M) and its research partner, Mathematica Policy Research (Mathematica), to conduct the Study of SFA Procurement Practices about school year (SY) 2017–2018. This study is one of the first FNS studies to comprehensively examine SFA procurement practices related to food service management companies, cooperative purchasing agreements, recordkeeping, local purchases, and food purchase specifications for Child Nutrition (CN) program meals served in schools (i.e., National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program).

Today, as part of the study, we invite you to participate in the SFA Procurement Practices Web Survey. The web survey is designed to be completed in approximately 90 minutes by the SFA director or designated members of your staff. The web survey is designed so that multiple staff can access the survey at different times and complete parts relevant to them. You will only need to forward the invitation email to them. All staff can use the same link; there is no log-in information. Respondents will be directed to the last completed survey question/section when reopening the web survey. If needed, survey respondents can simply navigate to their relevant section to answer and review questions. We encourage you to circulate the survey questions among appropriate staff to obtain responses to questions prior to beginning the web survey; the questions can be found here: [Link to survey PDF].

Your SFA is part of a nationally representative sample based on its responses to the second year of the Child Nutrition Program Operations Study II (CN-OPS-II) survey. This study is not an audit—we are asking you to be partners in assessing the range of procurement practices currently in use by SFAs. Your cooperation in this study is encouraged under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Given the SFAs were selected as part of a scientific sample, you represent not only your own SFA, but others like yours. Your response is very important to the study.

You are welcome to verify your State’s support of the study by contacting your FNS Regional Study Liaison, [Name of RO Liaison] at xxx, or your State Child Nutrition Director, [Name of STATE AGENCY CN Director] at xxx.

Please expect to receive an email in one to two days with your unique link which will allow you to access the web survey. We hope you will complete it as soon as possible. Following the web survey, a subsample of responding SFAs will be selected to complete the SFA Procurement Practices In-Depth Interview (IDI).

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the 2M survey help desk anytime by either calling (toll-free) 1-844-250-1911 or emailing [email protected] (or simply reply to this email). We have also included a list of responses to Frequently Asked Questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steven Garasky

Senior Study Director | 2M Research Project Director

Enclosed: Frequently Asked Questions