State CN Directors, State Agriculture Directors, and SFA Directors for Public Schools (SLT)

APPENDIX C.2

Census Recruitment ANNOUNCEMENT Email from Study Team to State Child Nutrition Directors

OMB Number: 0584-0646 Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Dear [STATE CN DIRECTOR]:

We write to ask for your assistance with the 2023 Farm to School Census, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) and managed by [insert contractor name], an independent research company. As you know, the 2023 Census is a short web survey that will ask school food authority (SFA) directors and other staff involved in farm to school to provide information about their participation in farm to school activities. Additional information about the Census is included in this frequently asked questions (FAQ) document.

We ask that you send an introductory email announcing the Census to all SFAs in your State or territory by [insert date]. Please see a template for the email here [insert link]. Attached to this email is the contact list for all SFAs in your State or territory (based on information you provided to us earlier). If your office has its own system for sending bulletins or newsletters to all SFAs in your State, please feel free to send via that system as well.

In mid-October we will send an email to all SFAs in your state or territory with the unique link to their 2023 survey. (For your reference, this email is available to download here [insert link].)

If you have any questions, please contact our team at toll-free at [insert study phone number] between 9 am and 9 pm ET, or e-mail [insert study email address].

Thank you in advance for your support and assistance in maximizing participation in the 2023 Farm to School Census! We can’t do this without you!

Sincerely,

[Insert study team project director and contact info]    

                                                                                                           

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in understanding and tracking farm to school engagement. This is a mandatory collection and FNS will use the information to set priorities for USDA outreach and technical support. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. 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 0584-0646. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 0.5 hours 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 Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22306 ATTN: PRA (0584-0646). Do not return the completed form to this address.