Appendix D1 Study support email from FNS Regional Office to State Agency

OMB Control Number: 0584-0607

Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

Dear [SA CN Director]:

FNS is working with Mathematica to conduct a fifth year of the School Meals Operations (SMO) Study. I’m writing to request your continued cooperation and to help set you up for success.

Mathematica will send you:

• A web survey in the fall (starting in October 2024)

• A request for administrative data in the spring (starting in March 2025)

This year, there will not be a survey for SFAs in your State.

Four states pre-tested the survey. They want you to know the survey is brief if you gather the necessary data ahead of time – especially the data required for Section B about non-congregate summer meals. Please start gathering data now – the survey questions are attached to this email.

Although the survey is brief, it collects important information about a year with major policy changes (meal pattern requirements for NSLP and SBP), program changes (the establishment of non-congregate summer meals), and a new program (Summer EBT). FNS uses the information you provide to make evidence-based decisions, and their ultimate goal – just like yours – is to help ensure the Child Nutrition Programs work well for the children we serve.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Sincerely,

[FNS Regional Office Liaison]

Attachments: Web Survey About School Year 2023-24 (Appendix B)

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is collecting this information to understand how State agencies operated CN Programs in SY 2023-2024. This is a mandatory collection. FNS will use the information to inform its planning, policy, and guidance related to the Child Nutrition Programs. Because the personally identifiable information (PII) requested under this collection will not be used to retrieve survey records or data, requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 do not apply. Responses will be kept private to the extent provided by law and FNS regulations. 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 0584-0607. The time required to read this email is estimated to average 3 minutes (0.05 hours). 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 22314, ATTN: PRA (0584-0607).