Appendix C10. SFA Director Recruitment Advance Letter (Groups 2 & 3)

C10. SFA DIRECTOR RECRUITMENT ADVANCE LETTER

(gROUPs 2 & 3)

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

OMB Control Number: 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

DATE, 2019

[FirstName] [LastName]

School Food Authority Director

[SFA]

[Address 1]

[Address 2]

Dear [Prefix] [LastName]:

Your school food authority (SFA) has been selected to participate in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study-II (SNMCS-II). Mathematica Policy Research (IF G3: Insight Policy Research, Agralytica and Decision Information Resources) (IF G2: and Insight Policy Research) are conducting this study under contract to the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Cooperation by selected states, districts, and schools is required under Section 28 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. I am writing to provide some general information about the study and to request your full support.

Your participation is vital to informing future policies for school meals to ensure the meals contribute to a healthy future for all children—a goal we all share.

This important study will (1) describe the food and nutritional quality of school meals and afterschool snacks, (2) update information on the school food environment and food service policies and practices, (3) estimate the cost to produce school meals and snacks, and (4) collect information about student participation, satisfaction, and dietary intake. Having updated information about the school meals programs will help States, SFAs, and schools better serve students.

All information gathered for this study is for research purposes only and will not affect meal reimbursements to participating schools or school meal program benefits of participating households.

Within the next few weeks, a member of the study team will contact you by telephone to discuss the study in more detail and learn more about your SFA. Data collection efforts will primarily occur between January and June 2020. The time leading up to that period will be used to coordinate study activities, such as establishing points of contact in each sampled school,[IF G2: identifying a student sample for study participation,] and scheduling a target week for reporting meal component information (Menu Survey) and on-site data collection. You will receive a separate request to complete an online survey of SFA directors after other data collection activities in your district are complete. The survey includes a variety of topics needed to characterize the school environment; food service operating policies and practices; and other characteristics of SFAs, schools, and students. The enclosed fact sheet provides an overview of the study.

Your SFA was selected as part of a scientific sample, so your responses will represent not only your own SFA, but other SFAs that are similar to yours. For this reason, participation of all selected SFAs is critical to the completeness of the study’s findings. I have enclosed a letter of support for the SNMCS-II from the School Nutrition Association (SNA). SNA agrees with me that the data collected through the SNMCS-II will provide critical information for setting policies and planning strategies and tools that can truly support schools in serving healthy meals.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this important study. If you have questions about the study then please contact Mathematica at [PHONE] or [email protected].

Sincerely,

FNS Signatory

FNS/U.S. Department of Agriculture

Enclosures

Cc: [Superintendent]