Appendix A. Research Issues and Research Questions
Table 1. SFA Director Survey Year 4 Research Questions
1. School Participation |
How many elementary, middle, and high schools participate in SBP and/or NSLP? |
What is the number of operating days and hours? |
How has school participation changed over time? |
How many schools participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Afterschool At-Risk Supper Program and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO)? |
How many schools participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)? |
What challenges do SFAs face with administering multiple programs (application processes, eligibility requirements, reporting requirements, accessibility for eligible students, maintaining program funding, etc.)? |
2. Student Participation |
How many students participate in SBP and/or NSLP? |
How many students in elementary, middle, and high schools participate in SBP and/or NSLP? How many SBP and NSLP meals were served? |
How many SBP and NSLP meals were served in elementary, middle, and high schools? |
How has student participation and the number of meals served changed over time? |
3. Meal Prices |
What is the average price charged for full-price, reduced-price, and adult meals for the current school year? |
How have meal prices changed over time? |
How many SFAs are exempted from Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) for
SY18-19? |
Did SFAs that did not have to comply with PLE in SY 18-19 drop their prices as a result in all schools, some schools, just high schools, etc.? |
4. Eligibility Determination and Verification |
Do SFAs use rolling verification as applications are certified, rather than all at once in October? |
Do SFAs issue an electronic or web-based application for free and reduced price school meals? |
Who is responsible for the development of these applications? |
What percentage of free and reduced price meals applications are electronic or web-based? |
To what extent do SFAs encourage households to submit electronic or web-based free and reduced price meals applications? |
Has use of electronic or web-based applications for free and reduced price school meals resulted in any advantages or benefits for SFAs, such as reduced administrative burden or household reporting errors? |
What technology is used for eligibility determination and verification? |
What method of contact do schools use to contact households selected for verification (letter, phone, email, text, other)? |
What is the relative number of children directly certified during the year compared to those directly certified at the start of the school year? |
Does the district accept emailed copies of verification documentation? |
5. Meal Pattern Requirements |
Use of USDA Foods |
How are SFAs using USDA Foods to meet the meal pattern requirements? |
What role do SFAs play in selecting USDA Foods? |
General Challenges Associated with Implementing the Meal Requirements |
To what extent did SFAs face challenges in implementing the meal pattern requirements in SY 2018-19? |
Whole Grain-Rich Requirements |
What practices did SFAs use to meet the whole grain-rich requirement? |
How many SFAs requested exemptions for the whole grain-rich requirement in SY 18-19? How many were approved? |
Fruit and Vegetable requirements for lunch |
What are SFAs doing to increase student acceptance of fruits and vegetables? What strategies have been successful? |
Calorie Requirements |
What proportion of SFAs face challenges in meeting the calorie standards for breakfast and lunch? Do the calorie minimums or maximums pose more of a challenge? |
What proportion of SFAs made adjustments to meet students’ needs/wants for additional foods? What types of adjustments have SFAs made? |
Sodium Requirements |
What are SFAs doing to ensure that they are meeting current sodium targets? |
What actions are SFAs taking to meet future sodium targets? |
Milk Requirements |
What types of milk are SFAs providing through the school meal programs? |
What proportion of SFAs offered flavored, low-fat (1%) milk through the school meal programs? |
What proportion of milk served is flavored, low-fat (1%)? |
Has there been an increase in flavored milk consumption since flavored 1% has been offered? |
Special diets/accommodations |
What processes and practices are SFAs and schools are using to provide dietary accommodations (e.g., gluten free, vegan, etc.) in school meals? |
How much time/effort/cost is involved in providing these meals? |
What proportion of meals requires an accommodation? |
6. Buy American |
What are SFAs doing regarding compliance with the Buy American provision? |
How do SFAs ensure compliance with the Buy American provision? |
Which Buy American exceptions are used? |
What are common reasons for the use of Buy American exceptions? |
What products do SFAs most commonly purchase under Buy American exceptions? |
How often are products used? |
What percentage of products are purchased under the Buy American exceptions? |
What percentage of dollars are Buy American exceptions used for? |
What are the most significant challenges in complying with the ‘Buy American’ provision? |
7. Training and Professional Standards |
What hiring standards are being used for SFA Directors? Is the SFA using the correct hiring standards for the LEA size? |
What training and technical assistance topics are provided and in what format (e.g. online, in person, etc .)? |
What sources of training and technical assistance are used? |
How useful was the training and technical assistance? |
Who is meeting professional standards requirements? |
How are SFAs tracking annual continuing education and training requirements? |
What types of training are being taken? (Include Institute for Child Nutrition [ICN] fundamentals course) |
How do SFAs prefer to get training (in person, online, in house, offered through State agency, offered through professional or other organization)? |
How do SFAs determine what training their staff needs? |
What training topics and activities do SFAs need or want that they are not receiving?? |
Are SFAs using the FNS Professional Standards Training Tracking Tool 2.0? |
How useful is the FNS Professional Standards Training Tracking Tool 2.0? |
What barriers and challenges have SFAs experienced with documenting staff completion of continuing education and training activities, and using the FNS Professional Standards Training Tracking Tool 2.0? |
8. Meal Counting |
What technology is used to track breakfast and lunch served? |
What method of counting is used in cafeteria and non-cafeteria points of service? |
What training and oversight is provided to cashiers on meal counting? |
What alternatives to the traditional cashier model are used? |
9. Financial Management |
What are SFA annual revenues and expenditures? |
To what extent do SFA revenues exceed expenditures and vice versa? |
How have annual revenues and expenditures changed over time? |
Do SFAs have a local meal charge policy, or follow a State developed meal charge policy? What does the policy include? |
What is the total amount of money owed to SFAs as a result of unpaid meal charges? |
Do SFAs use alternative funding sources (such as community donations) to offset costs incurred from unpaid meal charges? |
What steps do SFAs take to recover money from unpaid meal charges? |
What was the success of recovery? |
What is working/not working to recover money from unpaid meal charges? |
What are the consequences for households that fail to pay back debt? |
What are the implications for SFAs, when households fail to pay back debt? |
Table 2. CN Director Survey Year 4 Research Questions
1. Food Service Administration |
How many SFAs and schools operate under Provision 2, Provision 3, and the Community Eligibility Provision? |
How many schools operate in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) only, NSLP only or both SBP and NSLP? |
What is the increase in charter schools operating in NSLP and SBP? |
What is the SA doing to reach out to non-participating charter schools? |
How often are charter schools reviewed? |
What are the top issues in that charter schools experience with food service administration? |
Are charter schools more challenging for administrative reviews? Are they more challenging to provide training to? (scale more/less challenging?) |
Do States get meal counts from SFAs by school? |
Do States collect information from SFAs that could be used to build future sample frames? (e.g., provision status, food service management company [FSMC] use, etc.) |
2. Subsidies, Resources, and Funding |
How are State budget cuts impacting CN operations? |
Are States using contracted staff (staff employed by contractors, not directly by the State) for certain functions? |
Does the State provide financial resources for school meals to SFAs in the form of per-meal subsidies? What was the total amount given? |
Do States have adequate staffing resources for monitoring? |
Does the State provide support for any other aspects of the school food service operation? |
Have States been able to fully use Federal funds provided to administer the NSLP and the SBP? |
What challenges have impeded States’ ability to fully use Federal funds? What actions impacted States’ ability to fully use Federal funds? |
How many States have a statewide meal charge policy? What do the statewide meal charge policies include? |
Do States offer technical assistance to SFAs to help SFAs manage unpaid meal charges? |
What forms of technical assistance related to unpaid meal charges do States provide? |
Where do States find best practice resources to share with SFAs related to unpaid meal charges? |
3. Buy American |
What Buy American guidance and policies do States have in place for SFAs? |
Do States require SFAs to document the use of Buy American exceptions? |
What is the required documentation when States allow SFAs to use ‘Buy American’ exemptions? |
How do states ensure compliance with the Buy American provision? |
4. Procurement Procedures |
What proportion of SFAs are using an FSMC? |
Among SFAs that use FSMCs, what proportion use FSMCs that are national, regional, and local? Has this pattern changed over time? |
How do States review FSMC contracts and cooperative purchasing agreements? |
Do States require use of prototype contracts or agreements? |
5. Professional Standards |
What training and technical assistance topics are provided and in what format (e.g. online, in person, etc .)? |
What sources of training and technical assistance are used? (State-generated, ICN], contractor, etc.) |
How do State Agencies determine what training to provide? (e.g. do they look at common administrative review findings to choose focus topics?) |
What difficulties do States experience with residential child care institutions, charter schools, and rural SFAs that impact their ability to comply with professional standards requirements? |
What hiring standards are being used for State CN Directors? (previously under the State CN Director background section) |
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
Author | Joshua Townley |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2021-01-15 |