SFA Directors Private Schools and Distributors (Business)

APPENDIX D

CENSUS SURVEY

2019 FARM TO SCHOOL CENSUS SURVEY

Welcome to the 2019 Farm to School Census!

We know this is a busy time of year and we deeply appreciate your time.

The 2019 Farm to School Census is being conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and is being administered by Abt Associates. This Census will provide updated information about farm to school activities across school food authorities (SFAs), such as purchasing locally-produced food for school meal programs, taking students to farms, bringing farmers into classrooms, teaching students culinary skills, adopting food and agricultural curricula, and cultivating edible school gardens.

Before you begin, a few important reminders:

• Please complete the survey even if you think you do not participate in farm to school, as farm to school activities are widely defined and vary based on school district participation.

• Each school district or SFA director will should complete one Farm to School Census survey. If you have multiple schools in your SFA, you only need to complete ONE survey for the entire SFA.

• The survey is estimated to take 30 minutes or less to complete. Some questions may require that you coordinate with other school staff or partners, such as people involved in procurement, school gardens, and educational curriculum creation.
  NOTE: A few questions ask for the total value of food purchases during school year 2017-2018 and how much (in dollars) of those purchases were locally-produced. We recommend you obtain your purchase records before starting the Census.

• You may save your responses in the survey and come back to it later, continuing where you left off.

The survey does not ask for any personal information. FNS complies with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC §552a). All information gathered is for research purposes only and will be kept private to the full extent allowed by law.  Findings will be made public, but responses will be grouped with those of other study participants, and no individual SFAs will be identified.  Participation in this study will not affect any reimbursements, credits, participation in or foods received through USDA programs.

If you need assistance completing the survey, please call the toll free help line 1-866‐778‐1316 or email [email protected].

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-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection 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. 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.

* Questions 1 and 2 are required questions.

(PROGRAMMER: Fill in information from sample. Display all information on the same screen for respondent to verify.)

1. School district/school identification. Please review the information below to ensure it is correct and complete.

Email address of respondent:

SFA (Please use complete name without abbreviations.):

State or territory:

5 digit zip code for SFA mailing address:

ID number assigned to your SFA by your State Agency (if known):

Is all of this information complete and correct?

• Yes- All information is complete and correct (GOTO Q2)

• No-Corrections or completions are needed

1a. What information needs to be updated? (Please select all that apply.)

• Email address

• SFA Name

• State or territory

• SFA zip code

• State Agency ID number

• Nothing (GOTO Q2)

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q1B if Q1A=1 “Email address”)

1b. What is the correct email address?

(PROGRAMMER: MASK ANSWER TO PROPER EMAIL FORMAT.)

(PROGRAMMER: IF ANOTHER ITEM NEEDS UPDATE, GOTO NEXT ITEM. IF NOT, GOTO Q2)

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q1C if Q1A=2 “SFA Name”)

1c. What is the correct SFA name? Please include complete name without abbreviations

(PROGRAMMER: IF ANOTHER ITEM NEEDS UPDATE, GOTO NEXT ITEM. IF NOT, GOTO Q2)

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q1D if Q1A=3 “State or territory”)

1d. What is the correct state or territory? (PROGRAMMER MAKE THIS A DROP DOWN BOX WITH STATES LISTED BY ABBREVIATION)

(PROGRAMMER: DISPLAY DROP DOWN BOX OF 50 STATES, PLUS TERRITORIES INCLUDED IN SAMPLE)

(PROGRAMMER: IF ANOTHER ITEM NEEDS UPDATE, GOTO NEXT ITEM. IF NOT, GOTO Q2)

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q1E if Q1A=4 “SFA Zip code”)

1e. What is the correct zip code for your SFA’s mailing address? Please enter the 5 digit zip code.

(PROGRAMMER: ONLY ALLOW 5 NUMBERS)

(PROGRAMMER: IF ANOTHER ITEM NEEDS UPDATE, GOTO NEXT ITEM. IF NOT, GOTO Q2)

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q1F if Q1A=5 “State agency ID number”)

1f. What is the correct State agency ID number (SFAID) number?

SCHOOL INFORMATION

(ASK OF ALL)

Please answer a few questions about your school district.

2. In addition to the National School Lunch Program, which FNS programs did your SFA participate in during the 2017-2018 school year? (Please choose all that apply.)

• School Breakfast Program (SBP)

• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)

• CACFP (e.g., in a Pre-K setting)

• CACFP At-Risk Afterschool (snacks and/or supper)

• Summer meals (i.e., meals in the Summer Food Service Program or the Seamless Summer Option,)

• None of these

3. How does your district define "local" for the majority of its school food procurement? (Please choose one. If your definition of local varies by product, please select the most commonly used definition.)

• Produced within a 20 mile radius

• Produced within a 50 mile radius

• Produced within a 100 mile radius

• Produced within a 200 mile radius

• Same county

• Produced within the State

• Produced within the region (ASK Q3a)

• Other: (please specify) __________________________________

• We don’t have a set definition for local.

• Don’t know

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q3a if Q3 =”Produced within the region”)

3a. What do you mean by “region”?

• Other: (please specify) ____________________________

4. For all of the questions in the Census, we are referring to your SFA’s farm to school activities.

Definition: Farm to school activities generally refer to the procurement of local or regional foods and/or educational activities involving food, agriculture, or nutrition. These activities would include but are not limited to:

• Serving or promoting local food products in the cafeteria (meals and snacks), in the classroom, or elsewhere at school (For example, School Breakfast Program (SBP), the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), afterschool snacks or suppers through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and NSLP and through food distribution programs such as USDA Foods and USDA Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (USDA DoD Fresh)

• Conducting educational activities related to local foods, including bringing farmers and producers to the schools, taste testing local foods, hosting farmers’ markets at schools, including agricultural lessons in classroom curricula, and culinary education focused on local foods

• Taking field trips to farms, farmers' markets, or local food processing facilities

• Educational sessions for students, parents, and community members focused on local foods and agriculture

• Creating, tending, or harvesting from school gardens (growing edible fruits, vegetables, and herbs), conducting lessons in and about the school gardens

For each activity below, please indicate if your SFA has never done this activity; used to do this activity before 2017-2018 school year; did this activity in the 2017-2018 school year; is currently doing this in the 2018-2019 school year; or plan to do this activity in the future. Please select all that apply.

	CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY:
	Have never done this activity	Used to do this activity before 2017-2018 school year	Did this in 2017-2018 school year (last year)	Currently doing this in 2018-2019 school year (this year)	Plan to do this activity in the future
4a.Serve local foods in the cafeteria as part of school lunch or breakfast	1	2	3	4	5
4b.Serve local foods as a snack (in the classroom, sold a la carte, as fundraisers, etc.)	1	2	3	4	5
4c.Serve local foods or providing farm to school activities as part of afterschool programs	1	2	3	4	5
4d.Serve local foods as part of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)	1	2	3	4	5
4e.Source local foods from USDA DoD Fresh	1	2	3	4	5
4f.Serve products from school-based or district-based gardens/farms in any school meal, including summer and CACFP	1	2	3	4	5
4g.Hold taste tests/cooking demonstrations of local or garden-grown foods in the cafeteria, classroom, or other school-related setting	1	2	3	4	5
4h.Work with local food producers to develop specific food products using local foods	1	2	3	4	5
4i.Implement strategies to encourage student selection and consumption of local foods (e.g., product placement, food prompts, creative signage, etc.)	1	2	3	4	5
4j.Use cafeteria food coaches to promote the consumption of local foods (e.g. adults or students in the cafeteria encouraging kids to eat local foods)	1	2	3	4	5
4k.Use USDA Team Nutrition materials (such as The Great Garden Detective Adventure or Dig In!) as part of taste testing or educational activities	1	2	3	4	5
4l.Conduct educational edible school garden as part of a school, summer, or afterschool curriculum	1	2	3	4	5
4m.Conduct student field trips to farms, farmers’ markets, producers, processors	1	2	3	4	5
4n.Have farmer(s) visit the cafeteria, classroom or other school-related setting	1	2	3	4	5
4o.Integrate farm to school activities (such as gardening and local foods education) into Pre-Kindergarten curriculum	1	2	3	4	5
4p.Provide training to school food service staff on farm to school or school gardens	1	2	3	4	5
4q.Promote local foods through themed or branded promotions (e.g. Harvest of the Month, Local Day, Taste Washington Day, etc.)	1	2	3	4	5
4r.Promote local foods at school in general (e.g. via cafeteria signs, posters, newsletters, etc.)	1	2	3	4	5
4s.Generate media coverage of local foods being used in schools (e.g. press interviews or other activities that resulted in local coverage)	1	2	3	4	5
4t.Host farm to school related family and community events (e.g. invite parents to lunch, corn shucking contests, farmers’ markets at schools, etc.)	1	2	3	4	5
4u.Celebrate National Farm to School Month (October)	1	2	3	4	5
4v.Host special local foods events in CACFP (HOVER: Child and Adult Care Food Program) and SFSP (HOVER: Summer Food Service Program)	1	2	3	4	5
4w.Search for local vendors, farmers, co-ops to procure local foods	1	2	3	4	5
4x.Forecast budgetary needs for local purchases	1	2	3	4	5
4y.Utilize the geographic preference option to purchase local foods	1	2	3	4	5
4z.Evaluate the impact of farm to school activities (e.g., measuring changes in food waste, student acceptance of local items, changes in participation rates)	1	2	3	4	5
	Have never done this activity	Used to do this activity before 2017-2018 school year	Did this in 2017-2018 school year (last year)	Currently doing this in 2018-2019 school year (this year)	Plan to do this activity in the future

(PROGRAMMER: SET FARM TO SCHOOL STATUS BASED ON Q4 ANSWERS.)

NOTE THAT F2S IS SET FOR QUESTIONNAIRE SKIP PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR ANALYSIS

If Q4 includes 1 for any attribute, then set Q4_1 = YES, else Q4_1 = NO

If Q4 includes 2 for any attribute, then set Q4_2 = YES, else Q4_2 = NO

If Q4 includes 3 for any attribute, then set Q4_3 = YES, else Q4_3 = NO

If Q4 includes 4 for any attribute, then set Q4_4 = YES, else Q4_4 = NO

If Q4 includes 5 for any attribute, then set Q4_5 = YES, else Q4_5 = NO

IF Q4_1 = YES, and Q4_2, Q4_3, Q4_4, AND Q4_5 = NO, THEN CONFIRM:

[CONFIRM] Based on your responses, your SFA does not participate in and has no plans to participate in farm to school activities. Is that correct?

• Yes  CONTINUE TO ASSIGNING F2S VALUE BELOW

• No  GO BACK TO GRID AND REVIEW/UPDATE ANSWERS

Assign value of F2S based on the table below:

Q4_1	Q4_2	Q4_3	Q4_4	Q4_5	F2S	TITLE OF SKIP SECTION
any	any	YES	any	any	F2S = 1	Participating in Farm to School, SY 2017-2018
NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	F2S = 5	No longer participating in Farm to School
any	any	NO	YES	any	F2S = 2	Started Farm to School in SY 2018-2019
any	any	NO	NO	YES	F2S = 3	Plan to start Farm to School in the future
YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	F2S = 4	No Farm to School and no plans for the future

ASK Q5 IF F2S = 1; OTHERWISE GO TO Q6

(PROGRAMMER: USE THE SELECTED OPTIONS FROM Q2 to CREATE RESPONSE LIST AT Q5. ALWAYS DISPLAY “National School Lunch Program (NSLP) (PROGRAMMER: IF Q2=NONE OF THESE, DISPLAY “National School Lunch Program (NSLP)”)

5. Please indicate whether your district or any schools in your district used local foods IN ANY FORM (e.g., minimally processed fluid milk, fresh, frozen, or dried products, and more) for any of the following federal nutrition programs during the 2017-2018 school year. (Please choose all that apply.)

• School Breakfast Program (SBP)

• National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)

• CACFP (e.g., in a Pre-K setting)

• CACFP At-Risk Afterschool (snacks and/or supper)

• Summer meals (i.e., meals in the Summer Food Service Program or through the Seamless Summer Option)

(PROGRAMMER: ALWAYS DISPLAY THESE LAST TWO OPTIONS)

• None of these

• I don’t know

5. How many schools were in your SFA during the 2017-2018 school year?

_______ (RANGE 0-9999)

• Don’t know

5. To the best of your knowledge, approximately how many schools in your SFA had salad bars during the 2017-2018 school year?

_______ (RANGE 0-9999)

• Don’t know

IF Q7 >=1 and F2S=1, go to Question 8. IF F2S ≠ 1 go to Question 9. If Q 7 is “0”, go to Question 9

5. How many of these salad bars served local foods during the 2017-2018 school year?

_______ (RANGE 0-9999)

• Don’t know

9. During the 2017-2018 school year, what percent of your SFA’s recipes were made from “scratch”? (HOVER OVER: such as peeling and cutting up fruits and vegetables, measuring out raw ingredients, adding seasonings)

• 0-25%

• 26-50%

• 51-75%

• 76-100%

• Don’t know

(PROGRAMMER: IF F2S=1 OR 2, GO TO Q11; IF F2S=3, GO TO Q17; IF F2S=4, GO TO Q=18; IF F2S=5 GO TO Q10)

NO LONGER PARTICIPATING IN FARM TO SCHOOL

10. Why are you no longer participating in farm to school activities? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Lack funds to operate/conduct farm to school activities

• No staff available to lead farm to school activities

• No interest in farm to school activities

• Don’t see the benefits of farm to school activities

• Don’t have buy-in from district management

• Lack of administrative support

• Unable to find vendors that provide local foods

• Farmers/producers near me unable to provide what we need

• The cost of purchasing local foods is too high

• Other reason: (please specify)_________________________

• I don’t know

GOTO Q18.

STARTED FARM TO SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IN 2018-2019 SCHOOL YEAR

OR DOING FARM TO SCHOOL IN 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR

PROGRAMMER: DIPSLAY CHOSEN ACTIVITIES FROM Q4 GRID SO THEY CAN BE REFERENCE FOR Q11

11. How are you tracking farm to school activities? (Your activities like: {DISPLAY Q4=3 or 4} )(Please choose all that apply.)

• Spreadsheets/records

• Verbal/written reports from teachers/staff

• Surveys

• We don’t formally track

• Other: (please specify) ________________

(IF Q11=3 “Surveys”, ASK Q12)

12. Who is being surveyed? (Please choose all that apply)

• Students

• Teachers/staff

• Schools

13. Which of the following benefits do you feel has resulted from your participation in farm to school activities? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Reduced food waste

• Lower school meal program costs

• Increased consumption of items in school meals

• Increased participation in school meals

• Cooking more food from “scratch” (HOVER OVER: like peeling and cutting up fruits and vegetables, measuring out raw ingredients, adding seasonings)

• Increased kitchen staff satisfaction

• Better quality foods

• Increased student knowledge about local and healthful foods

• Increased student knowledge about how to grow food

• Increased student experiential learning opportunities (HOVER OVER: such as classes in the garden)

• Increased professional skill building or job training for students

• Other: (please specify) ____________

• We have not seen any benefits.

• I don’t know

14. Which, if any, of the following challenges have you experienced in procuring local products? (Please choose all that apply.)

VENDORS

• Limited availability of local foods

• Lack of availability of precut/processed local foods

• Local foods not available from primary vendors

• Local foods are not identified or marked as local by distributor/vendor

• Local food vendors s don't offer a broad range of products

• Difficult to find local producers, suppliers, and distributors

• Difficult to coordinate procurement of local foods with non-local foods

• Local producers aren’t bidding on Invitations for Bids (IFBs) or Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

• Difficult to get local products that meet quality requirements & other specifications (e.g., size)

• Producers unable to meet food safety requirements (e.g. Good Agricultural Practices)

• Don’t always receive ordered items

• Delivery challenges

PRICE AND PURCHASING

• Local foods are more expensive than conventional products

• Unstable product prices

• School/district payment procedures do not align with farmers' needs

• Unclear on how to apply the geographic preference option

• Unclear on how to apply to write specifications targeting local foods

STAFF/ KITCHEN

• Lack of kitchen equipment to process/prepare local foods

• Lack of skilled/trained staff to prepare local foods

• Lack of staff time in preparing local foods

• Lack of interest in preparing local foods

OTHER CHALLENGES

• Other: (please specify) ________________

• There are no challenges.

15. How are you tracking the benefits and/or challenges of your farm to school activities? (Please choose all that apply)

• Spreadsheets/reports

• Verbal/written reports from teachers/staff

• Surveys

• We don’t formally track

• Other: (please specify)______________

• I don’t know

(IF Q15=3 “Surveys”, ask Q16)

16. Who is being surveyed? (Please choose all that apply)

• Students

• Teachers/staff

• Schools

• Other

IF F2S=1, GO TO Q19; If F2S=2, GO TO Q52.

PLAN TO START FARM TO SCHOOL IN THE FUTURE

17. When do you plan to start conducting farm to school activities?

• Next school year, 2019-2020

• The following school year, 2020-2021

• A few years from now, past the 2020-2021 school year

• Not sure when we will start

PROGRAMMER: GO TO Q52

NO FARM TO SCHOOL AND NO PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

18. Why does your SFA choose not to participate in and have no plans to participate in farm to school activities? (Please choose all that apply.)

VENDORS

• Limited availability of local foods

• Lack of availability of precut/processed local foods

• Local foods not available from primary vendors

• Local foods are not identified or marked as local by distributor/vendor

• Local food vendors s don't offer a broad range of products

• Difficult to find local producers, suppliers, and distributors

• Difficult to coordinate procurement of local foods with non-local foods

• Local producers aren’t bidding on Invitations for Bids (IFBs) or Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

• Difficult to get local products that meet quality requirements & other specifications (e.g., size)

• Producers unable to meet food safety requirements (e.g. Good Agricultural Practices)

• Don’t always receive ordered items

• Delivery challenges

PRICE AND PURCHASING

• Local foods are more expensive than conventional products

• Unstable product prices

• School/district payment procedures do not align with farmers' needs

• Unclear on how to apply the geographic preference option

• Unclear on how to apply to write specifications targeting local foods

STAFF/ KITCHEN

• Lack of kitchen equipment to process/prepare local foods

• Lack of skilled/trained staff to prepare local foods

• Lack of staff time in preparing local foods

• Lack of interest in preparing local foods

OTHER CHALLENGES

• Other: (please specify) ________________

• There are no challenges.

PROGRAMMER: GO TO Q52

PARTICIPATING IN FARM TO SCHOOL

19. How long has your SFA been conducting farm to school activities? (Please choose one; your best estimate is fine.)

• Less than 3 years

• 3-5 years

• 6-10 years

• More than 10 years

20. How does your district handle food service? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Self-operated

• Food Service Management Company (FSMC)

• Vended meals

• Other (please specify)____________________

20. How does your SFA handle food preparation? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Central kitchen (i.e., for entire district or multiple schools in a district)

• Regional kitchens (e.g., when one school prepares meals and distributes to other schools)

• Receiving (satellite) kitchen (i.e., limited preparation on site)

• School-based kitchens (i.e., for a single school)

• Other (please specify) ___________________

20. During the 2017-2018 school year, what grades participated in farm to school activities? Please keep in mind that farm to school activities include gardens, food and agricultural education, and local procurement. (Please choose all that apply.)

• Pre-K and younger

• K through 5^th grade

• 6^th grade to 8^th grade

• 9^th grade to 12^th grade

• I don’t know

(PROGRAMMER: DISPLAY ALL ITEMS FROM THE GRID IN Q4 WHERE Q4x=3. HAVE THIS LIST VISIBLE TO RESPONDENT AS THEY ANSWER QUESTION 23 BELOW)

20. (DISPLAY LIST OF Q4 ITEMS WHERE Q4x=3 ABOVE QUESTION.) To the best of your knowledge, approximately how many schools within the SFA participated in any farm to school activities during the 2017-2018 school year? (Please see the list above for farm to school activities your SFA participated in during the 2017-2018 school year)

(Numeric) Range 0:32000

20. To the best of your knowledge, approximately how many of the schools in your SFA served local food of any kind in the 2017=2018 school year?

(Numeric) Range 0:32000

(PROGRAMMER: ANSWER TO Q24 MUST NOT BE GREATER THAN Q23. IF Q24>Q23, DISPLAY: “The number of schools participating in farm to school serving local food cannot be greater than the total number of school participating in farm to school activities.” AND GOTO Q23)

20. To the best of your knowledge, approximately how many of the schools in your SFA provided food, nutrition, or agricultural education during the 2017-2018 school year?

(Numeric) Range 0:3000

(PROGRAMMER: ANSWER TO Q25 MUST NOT BE GREATER THAN Q23. IF Q25>Q23, DISPLAY: “The number of schools participating in farm to school providing agricultural education cannot be greater than the total number of school participating in farm to school activities.” GOTO Q23.)

20. How are you tracking the food, nutrition, and agricultural education activities? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Spreadsheet/reports

• Verbal/written reports from teachers/staff

• Surveys

• We don’t formally track

• Other (please specify) ________

(IF Q26=3 “Surveys”, ask Q27)

20. Who is being surveyed? (Please choose all that apply)

• Students

• Teachers/staff

• Schools

• Other (please specify) _____

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q28 if Q25>0)

20. How is food, nutrition and agricultural education provided to students? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Visits from farmers

• Food and agriculture curriculum integration

• Field trips to farms/famers’ markets

• Taste tests of local foods

• Other (please specify:____________)

20. To the best of your knowledge, approximately how many schools in the SFA had edible school gardens during the 2017-2018 school year? (IF SAMPLE HAS NUMBER OF SCHOOLS =1, ASK “To the best of your knowledge, did your school have an edible garden during the 2017-2018 school year?”)

(Numeric) Range 0:32000 DK

(PROGRAMMER: ANSWER AT Q29 MUST NOT BE GREATER THAN ANSWER AT Q23. IF Q29>Q23, DISPLAY: The number of schools with edible school gardens cannot be greater than the total number of schools in your district participating in farm to school. Let’s review those questions again. GOTO Q23)

(PROGRAMMER: IF Q29>0, ASK Q30 AND Q31, ELSE GO TO Q32

20. How does your SFA track the number of schools that had edible school gardens during the 2017-2018 school year? (Please choose all that apply)

• Spreadsheet/reports

• Verbal/written reports from teachers/staff

• Surveys

• We don’t formally track

• Other (please specify) ________

20. How did schools use the harvest from the school gardens? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Donated or sold to the cafeteria for inclusion in school meals programs

• Donated or sold it to outside entities, like at a farmers’ market or CSA [HOVER OVER: Community Supported Agriculture]

• Sent it home with the students

• Served it in the classrooms or gardens as part of classroom or garden-based educational activities

• Something else (specify)

• I don’t know

20. For the 2017-2018 school year, please indicate if your district procured local foods from any of the following sources. (Please choose all that apply.)

• Individual food producers (i.e. farmers, ranchers, fishers), including but not limited to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model

• Cooperatives of farmers, ranchers or fishers

• Farmers’ markets or roadside stands

• School or community garden/farm

• Through a cooperative agreement with other SFAs

• Distributors

• Food buying cooperative (of school districts or other buyers)

• Food hub (HOVER OVER: a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products.)

• Grocery stores

• USDA DoD Fresh Program vendors (HOVER OVER: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program allows schools to use USDA Foods entitlement dollars to buy fresh produce. The program is operated by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) at the Department of Defense.  USDA DoD Fresh allocations may be changed throughout the year and USDA does not impose a cap on the amount of entitlement used through this program.)

• USDA Foods

• Other. Please specify: __________.

• None of these

• I don’t know

20. Which of the following approaches did your SFA use to procure local foods during the 2017-2018 school year? (Please choose all that apply)

• Forward contracts

• Informal procurement, including small purchases and micropurchases

• Formal procurement, including Invitations for Bid and Requests for Proposal

• Use of geographic preference as part of solicitations

• Other________________________

• I don’t know

34. Please indicate if your district or any schools in your district purchased any of the following local foods – IN ANY FORM -- during the 2017-2018 school year or would like to in the future. (Please choose one answer per row.)

	Yes, purchased as local products in 2017-2018	No, and have no plans to purchase these as local products	No, but would like to purchase as a local product in the future
a.Fruit	1	2	3
b.Vegetables	1	2	3
c.Fluid milk	1	2	3
d.Other dairy (HOVER OVER: Cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc)	1	2	3
e.Protein (HOVER OVER: Meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, nuts, seeds, etc.)	1	2	3
f.Grains, including baked goods (HOVER OVER: Flour, grits, pasta, rice, etc.)	1	2	3
g.Other product type: (please specify)_______________	1	2	3

(PROGRAMMER: IF NONE OF THE ATTRIBUTES IN Q34 ARE MARKED AS 1, GO TO PROGRAMMER NOTE BEFORE Q37.)

35. What were the top five local foods your school district purchased in 2017-2018, based on TOTAL DOLLARS SPENT.

(PROGRAMMER: THE [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU] DISPLAYED IN COLUMN ii. WILL DEPEND ON THE CATEGORY CHOSEN IN COLUMN i. COLUMN iii. SHOULD ONLY APPEAR AS AVAILABLE TO THE RESPONDENT AS DICTATED BY THE SELECTION IN THE [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU] ALLOW THE RESPONDENT TO BEGIN TYPING A FOOD AS A WAY OF SEARCHING THE [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU] LIST. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE FOOD PULL DOWN MENU FOR FRUIT IS DISPLAYED, THE RESPONDENT CAN TYPE “P” TO SKIP TO ALL THE FRUITS THAT START WITH “P” ON THE LIST – BUT RETAIN THE ABILITY TO SCROLL THROUGH THE PULL DOWN LIST)

TOP LOCAL FOODS BY DOLLARS SPENT	i. What food group is it in?	ii. What is the food?	iii. Please specify
a. Top local item	[PULL DOWN MENU 1]	[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_x]	________________
b. Second local item	[PULL DOWN MENU 1]	[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_x]	________________
c. Third local item	[PULL DOWN MENU 1]	[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_x]	________________
d. Fourth local item	[PULL DOWN MENU 1]	[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_x]	________________
e. Fifth local item	[PULL DOWN MENU 1]	[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_x]	________________

[PULL DOWN MENU 1]

(PROGRAMMER: ONLY DISPLAY THE CATEGORIES SELECTED IN Q34]

• Fruit  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_A]

• Vegetable  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_B]

• Fluid Milk  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_C]

• Other Dairy  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_D]

• Protein  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_E]

• Grains, including baked goods  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_F]

• [DISPLAY TEXT FROM SPECIFY OF 34g.]  COLUMN ii. IS [FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_G]

(PROGRAMMER: ONLY DISPLAY THIS LAST OPTION FOR ROWS 35b – e)

• I don’t purchase any other local foods.

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_A]

• Apples

• Apricots

• Bananas

• Blackberries

• Blueberries

• Cantaloupe

• Cranberries

• Dragon fruit

• Grapefruit

• Grapes

• Kiwi

• Melons

• Nectarines

• Oranges

• Papaya

• Peaches

• Pears

• Pineapple

• Plums

• Pluots

• Raspberries

• Strawberries

• Tomatoes

• Watermelon

• Fruit juice

• Other  MAKE COLUMN iii. “Please specify” AVAILABLE

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_B]

• Asparagus

• Avocados

• Beans

• Beets

• Bell peppers

• Bok choy

• Broccoli

• Brussels sprouts

• Cabbage

• Carrots

• Cauliflower

• Celery

• Collard greens

• Corn

• Cucumber

• Eggplant

• Green beans

• Green chilies

• Kale

• Leeks

• Lettuce

• Mushrooms

• Onions

• Parsnips

• Peas

• Potatoes (not sweet potatoes)

• Pumpkin

• Radishes

• Rutabaga

• Salad Mix

• Spinach

• Sprouts

• Squash

• Sweet potatoes

• Swiss chard

• Turnips

• Turnip greens

• Zucchini

• Vegetable juice (such as tomato juice)

• Other  MAKE COLUMN iii. “Please specify” AVAILABLE

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_C]

• Fluid milk

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_D]

• Cheese, including cottage cheese

• Sour cream

• Yogurt/Greek yogurt

• Other  MAKE COLUMN iii. “Please specify” AVAILABLE

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_E]

• Beef

• Eggs

• Nuts, seeds, and/or nut/seed butters

• Pork

• Poultry

• Seafood

• Tofu or other meat alternative

• Wild Game

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_F]

• Flour

• Grits

• Pasta

• Rice

• Baked goods (e.g., bread, cookies, tortillas)

• Other  MAKE COLUMN iii. “Please specify” AVAILABLE

[FOOD PULL DOWN MENU_G]

• [DISPLAY TEXT FROM SPECIFY OF 34g.]

(PROGRAMMER: ASK Q35b FOR EACH ITEM IN TABLE 35 ABOVE)

35b. How much did your SFA spend on [Q35xiii IF POPULATED, OTHERWISE Q35xii (x=a-e based on iteration asked)] in 2017-2018?

_____________________ (RANGE 0-999,999,999) DK

(PROGRAMMER: LOOP BACK THROUGH Q35b 5 TIMES)

(PROGRAMMER: Populate the rows in Q36 with only the items that are “Yes” at Q34.)

36. On average, in SY 2017-2018 about how frequently did your SFA’s meals or snacks include at least one local food from the categories below?

	Daily	A few times per week	Weekly	A few times per month	Monthly	Seasonally/Occasionally	Never
a.Fruit
b.Vegetables
c.Fluid milk
d.Other dairy (HOVER OVER: Cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc)
e.Protein (HOVER OVER: Meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, nuts, seeds, etc.)
f.Grains, including baked goods (HOVER OVER: Flour, grits, pasta, rice, etc.)
g. [DISPLAY TEXT FROM OTHER PRODUCT TYPE IN 37g.]

(PROGRAMMER: PUT Q37 and Q38 and Q39 on the SAME SCREEN)

The following questions ask how much money was spent by your SFA on food and local food during the 2017-2018 school year. Please give your best approximation and do not include the value of USDA Foods or USDA DoD Fresh (entitlement).

37. For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your SFA’s approximate total food costs (in dollars)? (PROGRAMMER: MASK QUESTION SO ONLY NUMBERS CAN BE IMPUTED)

TOTAL food costs (Please round to the nearest dollar. Do not count USDA Foods/USDA DoD Fresh.):

$

(PROGRAMMER: ALLOW ONLY WHOLE NUMBERS. QUESTION RANGE FROM 0-1,000,000,000. DISPLAY:

You have entered (Q37 formatted as a dollar amount with dollar sign and commas) as your total food costs for all of the 2017-2018 school year. Is this correct?

• Yes – GOTO Q37a

• No- GOTO Q37

(PROGRAMMER: QUESTION 37 AND 37a SHOULD BE DISPLAYED ON THE SAME SCREEN SO RESPONDENT CAN VIEW ALL OF QUESTION 37 WHEN ANSWERING 37a)

37a. What source did you use for your answer to the previous question (For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your approximate TOTAL food costs)? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Financial records/receipts

• Procurement records, including bid documents

• Budget

• Estimated costs

37. For the 2017-2018 school year, about how much of your SFA’s total food purchases (in dollars) were spent on LOCAL foods INCLUDING fluid milk? (If you're not sure, a rough estimate is perfectly acceptable.) (PROGRAMMER: MASK QUESTION SO ONLY NUMBERS CAN BE IMPUTED)

Total cost of local food, including fluid milk (Please round to the nearest dollar. Do not count USDA Foods/USDA DoD Fresh.):

$

(PROGRAMMER: ALLOW ONLY WHOLE NUMBERS. QUESTION RANGE FROM 0-1,000,000,000. DISPLAY:

You have entered (Q38 formatted as a dollar amount with dollar sign and commas) as the total amount spent on local food purchases, including fluid milk, for all of the 2017-2018 school year. Is this correct?

• Yes – GOTO Q38a

• No- GOTO Q38

(PROGRAMMER: Q38 CANNOT BE GREATER THAN Q37. IF Q38>Q37, DISPLAY: “Your local food purchases cannot be greater than your total food purchases. Let’s review these questions again.” GOTO Q37)

(PROGRAMMER: IF Q38 is 11% or more of Q37, display:

Your local food purchases are a large percent (DISPLAY PERCENT ROUNDED TO WHOLE PERCENT % IN PARENTHESIS) of your total food purchases. Are your local food purchases $ Q38 and your total food purchases $ Q37?

• Yes, both are okay – GOTO Q38a

• No, one or both are wrong - GOTO Q37

(PROGRAMMER: QUESTION 38 AND 38a SHOULD BE DISPLAYED ON THE SAME SCREEN SO RESPONDENT CAN VIEW ALL OF QUESTION 38 WHEN ANSWERING 38a)

38a. What source did you use for your answer to the previous question (For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your approximate total LOCAL food costs, including fluid milk)? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Financial records/receipts

• Procurement records, including bid documents

• Budget

• Estimated costs

37. For the 2017-2018 school year, about how much did your SFA spend on LOCAL fluid milk (in dollars)? (If you're not sure, a rough estimate is acceptable.) (PROGRAMMER: MASK QUESTION SO ONLY NUMBERS CAN BE IMPUTED)

Costs of Local Fluid Milk (Please round to the nearest dollar.):

$

(PROGRAMMER: ALLOW ONLY WHOLE NUMBERS. QUESTION RANGE FROM 0-1,000,000,000. DISPLAY:

You have entered Q39 (formatted as a dollar amount with dollar sign and commas). Is this correct?

• Yes – GOTO Q39a

• No- GOTO Q39

(PROGRAMMER: Q39 CANNOT BE GREATER THAN Q38. IF Q39>Q38, DISPLAY: “Your fluid milk purchases cannot be greater than your total local food purchases INCLUDING fluid milk. Let’s review these questions again.” GOTO Q38)

(PROGRAMMER: QUESTION 39 AND 39a SHOULD BE DISPLAYED ON THE SAME SCREEN SO RESPONDENT CAN VIEW ALL OF QUESTION 39 WHEN ANSWERING 39a)

39a. What source did you use for your answer to the previous question (For the 2017-2018 school year, how much did your SFA spend on LOCAL fluid milk)?

• Financial records/receipts

• Procurement records, including bid documents

• Budget

• Estimated costs

37. For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your SFA’s approximate food costs (in dollars) for USDA DoD Fresh (HOVER OVER: USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program) ONLY? (Do not count USDA Foods.) (PROGRAMMER: MASK QUESTION SO ONLY NUMBERS CAN BE IMPUTED)

Costs of USDA DoD Fresh (HOVER OVER: USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program) (Please round to the nearest dollar.):

$

(PROGRAMMER: ALLOW ONLY WHOLE NUMBERS. QUESTION RANGE FROM 0-1,000,000,000. DISPLAY:

You have entered Q40 (formatted as a dollar amount with dollar sign and commas). Is this correct?

• Yes – GOTO Q40a

• No- GOTO Q40

(PROGRAMMER: Q40 CANNOT BE GREATER THAN (<average daily participation> x $1.30). IF Q40>(<average daily participation> x $1.30), DISPLAY QUESTION BELOW. OTHERWISE, IF <average daily participation> IS MISSING, GOTO Q40a.):

Your USDA DoD Fresh amount is larger than expected Q40 (formatted as a dollar amount with dollar sign and commas). Is this amount correct?

• Yes – GOTO Q40a

• No- GOTO Q40

(PROGRAMMER: QUESTION 40 AND 40a SHOULD BE DISPLAYED ON THE SAME SCREEN SO RESPONDENT CAN VIEW ALL OF QUESTION 40 WHEN ANSWERING 40a)

40a. What source did you use for your answer to the previous question (For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your SFA’s approximate food costs for USDA DoD Fresh ONLY?)

• Financial records/receipts

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS)

• Budget

• Estimated costs

37. For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your SFA’s approximate LOCAL food costs (in dollars) for USDA DoD Fresh (HOVER OVER: USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program) ONLY? (Do not count USDA Foods.) (PROGRAMMER: MASK QUESTION SO ONLY NUMBERS CAN BE IMPUTED)

Costs of LOCAL USDA DoD Fresh (HOVER OVER: USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program) (Please round to the nearest dollar.):

$

(PROGRAMMER: ALLOW ONLY WHOLE NUMBERS. QUESTION RANGE FROM 0-1,000,000,000. DISPLAY:

You have entered Q41 (formatted as a dollar amount with dollar sign and commas). Is this correct?

• Yes – GOTO Q41a

• No- GOTO Q41

(PROGRAMMER: Q41 CANNOT BE GREATER THAN Q40. IF Q41>Q40, DISPLAY: “Your LOCAL USDA DoD Fresh purchases cannot be greater than your TOTAL USDA DoD Fresh purchases. Let’s review these questions again.” GOTO Q40)

(PROGRAMMER: QUESTION 41 AND 41a SHOULD BE DISPLAYED ON THE SAME SCREEN SO RESPONDENT CAN VIEW ALL OF QUESTION 41 WHEN ANSWERING 41a)

41a. What source did you use for your answer to the previous question (For the 2017-2018 school year, what were your SFA’s approximate LOCAL food costs for USDA DoD Fresh ONLY?)

• Financial records/receipts

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Order Receipt System (FFAVORS)

• Budget

• Estimated costs

37. The next few questions ask about distributors or vendors used to procure local food. Which distributors do you currently use to procure local food? Please provide the company names of the distributors. You are welcome to include both produce and broadline distributors, among others, as well as suppliers.

• Other 1: (please specify)____________

• Other 2: (please specify)____________

• Other 3: (please specify) ____________

• Other 4: (please specify) ____________

• Do not use distributors to procure local food

• Refused

37. Do you ask your vendors or distributors for reports regarding the items you are considering ordering or have ordered? (Please choose all that apply.)

• Local order/availability guide

• Origin of item

• Volume of all local foods procured by that vendor or distributor for your SFA

• Price of all local foods procured by that vendor or distributor for your SFA

• Other 1 (please specify)____________________

• Other 2 (please specify)____________________

• I have not asked for any of these

(PROGRAMMER: IF Q43=any of 1-6, ask Q44 & Q45; IF Q43 = “ I have not asked for any of these,” GO TO STATEMENT BEFORE Q46.)

37. Are the vendors or distributors able to provide the reports requested above?

• Yes

• No

• Sometimes

37. How often do you receive (or have you received) these reports?

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Every few months

• Yearly

• Sporadically

• I don’t know

These last questions ask about staff who work on farm to school activities, farm to school policies, and best practices.

37. How many staff, either full or part-time, are dedicated to farm to school activities within your SFA/school/district? This includes purchasing, procurement, educational activities and gardens. Please only include paid staff, including any contracted and grant-funded staff. (Please include nutrition specialists, garden educators, AmeriCorps members, teachers, and any others who facilitate farm to school activities.)

a. Number of full time staff dedicated to farm to school activities (Full time is defined as at least 40 hours in one week)	RANGE 0-100
b. Number of part time staff who use some portion of their time for farm to school activities (Part time is defined as less than 40 hours in one week)	RANGE 0-100

(PROGRAMMER: IF Q46a or Q46b >0, ASK Q47. ELSE GO TO Q48)

37. How are the above positions and farm to school activities funded? (Please choose all that apply.)

• USDA Farm to School Grant

• Other federal grants (specify) ___________)

• Local or state government grants

• Private foundation grants (national or local) (specify) ___________

• Corporate partnerships and donations

• School/District funding, such as PTA/PTO or a school/district foundation

• Individual donations

• In-kind contributions (e.g., a local government provides a farm to school staff member at partial time)

• From the non-profit food-service account

• Other (please specify): ____________________________

• I don’t know

37. Does your SFA participate in a farm to school network, task force, or advisory board that promotes or assists with implementing farm to school activities?

• Yes

• No

• I don’t know

37. From the list below, please select which, if any, of the following policies are currently in place at your SFA to support farm to school. (Please choose all that apply.)

• Wellness policies that support farm to school

• Procurement policies that support the purchasing of local foods

• Policies that support fundraising for farm to school activities

• Budget allocations dedicated to farm to school activities

• No policies are in place to support farm to school activities

• Other (please specify)_____________________

• Don’t know

37. Is there other information on farm to school activities that you think we need to know? (Optional)

37. Please share a local food success story. We want to know about best practices or hear about amazing stories that feature partnerships or highlight community engagement. (Optional)

37. Sometimes FNS would like to reach out to SFAs for other opportunities, such as gathering best practices or featuring SFAs in webinars or e-letters. We would like your permission to provide your contact information to the FNS Regional Office, should they request it. Please choose a box below.

___ I agree to allow FNS to provide my contact information to the FNS Regional Office for other purposes.

___ I do not agree to allow FNS to provide my contact information to the FNS Regional Office for other purposes.

PROGRAMMER: INSERT NEW SCREEN

Thank you for completing the 2019 Farm to School Census! For more information on starting or expanding farm to school activities, please visit the Office of Community Food Systems’ website at https://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/farm-school.

Questions or comments? Please contact Abt Associates at [email protected]