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

appendix C.3

CENSUS ANNOUNCEMENT Email to SFAs

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

Dear SFA Director:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) is gearing up for the 2023 Farm to School Census!

FNS has contracted with [insert contractor name] to conduct the Census with all public, charter, and private school food authorities (SFAs) that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) nationwide. Your full participation is crucial to ensure that the Census data is representative of all SFAs in the country and in your state.

In mid-October, [insert contractor name] will e-mail you a link to the Census and instructions. It will come from [insert study email address] Please add this email address to your approved senders list so that you don’t miss the email. When completing the Census, you will provide information about your SFA for school year 2022-23. You will have through December to complete the Census.

Responding to FNS research requests is required under the National School Lunch Act, and it is important that all SFAs participate, regardless of their participation in farm to school activities. The Farm to School Census is our best tool for collecting important information to help us support your farm to school efforts. [If desired, insert other sentence about how the information is used in your state.]

If you are curious about how your results will be used, feel free to check out the results of the 2019 Farm to School Census at https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov/. You can explore data at the SFA, State, or national level.

If you have any questions, please contact the project team from 9 AM to 9 PM ET toll-free at [insert study phone number] from 9 AM to 9 PM ET, or e-mail [insert study email]. Thank you in advance for your support of the 2023 Census.

Sincerely,

[Insert State CN director name and signature]    

          

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 0.0668 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.