WIC National Outreach Campaign – In-depth Interviews (IDIs) among Employees of Food Shopping Vendors

OMB CONTROL NO.: 0584-0611

EXPIRATION DATE: 11/30/2025

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in developing a National Outreach Campaign to increase awareness of the health and nutrition benefits associated with specific programs. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to better meet the needs of current program participants, as well as those individuals who are eligible but do not participate. 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 0584-0611. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 10 minutes 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 (0584-0611). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Attachment A-1 Vendor Corporate Employee IDI Screener

(12 IDIs – Store Manager / 12 IDIs - Cashier)

• All interviews approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour in length

Hello, My name is_______________________, and I am calling for Edge Research, a research company in Arlington, Virginia. We are calling on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to ask for your participation in a one-on-one interview about federal food benefit programs in grocery stores. Your participation is voluntary and as a token of our appreciation, we will provide incentive for your participation in a 1-hour discussion on this subject. There are no penalties if you choose not to participate. This feedback session will be private, which means that nothing that you say will be seen by anyone other than qualified researchers working on this project, except as otherwise required by law. Your responses will be combined with others, and you will never be personally identified.

Are you interested in participating?

IF NO: Thank you and have a great day/evening.

IF YES: Great! First, I need to ask you a few questions to find out if your background meets the needs of this study.

Before the questions, I need to inform you about the process.

It will take approximately 10 minutes to complete the questions. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0611. If you have comments on any aspect of this information collection, there is a mailing address to send comments to USDA. Would you like that address? [IF YES: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Braddock Metro Center II, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314, ATTN: PRA (0584-0611).]

1. Are you currently working for a national or regional chain store or independent local store (i.e., neighborhood store), or bodega that sells groceries?

1. Yes, full time

2. Yes, part time

3. No TERMINATE

2. And which of the following do you work for?

   1. National or regional chain/store (such as Walmart, Albertsons, Publix) that sells groceries

   2. Local independent store or neighborhood store

   3. Bodega

   4. Co-op or community store

   5. Convenience store

   6. Other (Please specify: _________________) HOLD FOR REVIEW

RECRUIT A MIX. 4 STORE MANAGERS AND 4 CASHIERS MUST SELECT 2, 3, 4, 5 TO CONTINUE

3. What company/store do you work for? OPEN END

RECORD RESPONSE ________________________

CODE FROM COMPANY LIST ON LAST PAGE: _________

(RECRUIT MIX FROM CHAIN STORES, NO MORE THAN 8 STORE MANAGERS OR CASHIERS FROM NATIONAL/REGIONAL CHAIN STORES)

4. And what is your role/title at the store?  RECORD RESPONSE/CODE FROM LIST BELOW: ________________________________ 

1. Owner POSSIBLE FOR STORE MANAGER

2. Store Manager POSSIBLE FOR STORE MANAGER

3. Accountant TERMINATE

4. Cashier/Check-out POSSIBLE FOR CASHIER/CUSTOMER SERVICE

5. Customer Service POSSIBLE FOR CASHIER/CUSTOMER SERVICE

6. Stocker TERMINATE

7. Janitor TERMINATE

8. Other, specify: ____________________ TERMINATE

5. How long have you been in your current role?

   1. Less than one year TERMINATE

   2. 1 to less than 3 years

   3. 3 to less than 5 years

   4. 5 years or more

6. How long have you been with the store?

   1. Less than one year TERMINATE

   2. 1 to less than 5 years

   3. 5 to less than 10 years

   4. 10 years to less than 20 years

   5. 20 years or more

7. How familiar are you with the Special Supplemental Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children often referred to as WIC? Are you…

   1. Very familiar

   2. Somewhat familiar

   3. Not at all familiar TERMINATE

   4. Don’t know TERMINATE

8. Does your store accept WIC benefits?

1. Yes

2. No TERMINATE

3. Not sure TERMINATE

[FOR Q4=1 OR Q4=2, ONLY]

9. Overall, what percentage of your customers are WIC shoppers? Your best estimate is fine.

_________% RECORD

IF Q4=1 or 2 (OWNER OR STORE MANAGER) ASK Q10

10. Which of the following best describes your role with your store in implementing/working with WIC?

    1. Much of your work is related to/associated with WIC

    2. Some of your work is related to/associated with WIC

    3. A small amount of your work is related to/associated with WIC

    4. None of your work is related to/associated with WIC TERMINATE

    5. Not sure TERMINATE

TO QUALIFY AS STORE MANAGER, RESPONDENT MUST SELECT Q10 = 1,2,3 (MUST HAVE AT LEAST SOME ASPECT OF THEIR WORK RELATED TO WIC)

IF Q4=4 (CASHIER) ASK Q11

11. Typically, how often do you experience challenges or complications when checking out a customer who wants to use WIC benefits?

    1. All the time

    2. Most of the time

    3. Some of the time

    4. Rarely

    5. Never TERMINATE

    6. Not sure TERMINATE

RECRUIT A MIX

Finally, just a few last questions about you.

12. What is your gender? RECRUIT A MIX

1. Male

2. Female

3. Non-binary

4. Other, specify_____________

13. In which state do you live? _____________________

FOR QUALIFIED IDIs:

Thank you for your response! Your answers have qualified you to participate in a more in-depth research interview. The interview will take place in the comfort of your own home or office. The only requirement is that you are in a quiet place with access to a phone and computer with internet connection. We would need 1 hour of your time. As a thank you for participating in this study, if you complete the interview, you will receive [$75 STORE MANAGER / $75 CASHIERS] for your time. Are you interested in participating in this study? YES / NO

IF YES, PROCEED

IF NO, THANK THEM FOR THEIR TIME

Thank you for your interest! These interviews are being conducted using a virtual meeting platform, so it’s important that you be in a quiet place with a computer and high-speed internet access for the discussion. This will allow you to connect with the moderator over a webcam and enables us to share some different test materials with you over the computer screen.    

 

Interview details 

• Your participation and all feedback will remain anonymous. 

• The discussion will be conducted virtually – that means that we will send a registration link for the meeting and would like you to be at your computer during the interview.  

• We can schedule a time that’s convenient for you. 

To schedule/confirm 

• Date, time (time zone), best phone # 

• Confirm email address for respondent  

• You will receive a confirmation email with further details. 

 

Respondent's name _______________________________________ 

Telephone number _______________________________________ 

Email Address           ___________________________________________ 

14. What type of device will you be using to participate?

1. Computer/laptop

2. Tablet

3. Smartphone

IF Q14=1 OR 2 (USING COMPUTER OR TABLET)

15. Do you have a high-speed internet connection that you can use while participating in this research?

1. Yes CONTINUE

2. No OPTION FOR RESPONDENT TO USE PHONE INSTEAD, OTHERWISE THANK AND TERMINATE

16. Do you have a webcam on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone that you can use for the discussion?

1. Yes          CONTINUE

2. PLEASE HOLD FOR EDGE REVIEW, IDEALLY ALL RESPONDENTS HAVE

FOR ANY NON-QUALS:   Thank you for your responses!  Unfortunately, it seems you are not quite the right fit for this study, but thank you for taking the time to answer my questions today. 

 

Q2 STORE LIST

1. Albertsons

2. Aldi

3. Alex Lee Inc

4. Baker’s

5. Brookshire’s

6. City Market

7. Costco

8. CVS

9. Dillons

10. Fareway

11. Food 4 Less

12. Food City

13. Food Lion

14. Foodtown

15. Fred Meyer

16. Fry’s

17. Gerbes

18. Giant

19. Giant Eagle

20. Giant Food

21. Haggen

22. Hannaford

23. Harmons

24. Harps food Stores

25. Harris Teeter

26. Hy-Vee

27. Ingles

28. JayC

29. King Soopers

30. KJ’s Fresh Market

31. Kroger

32. Lin’s Fresh Market

33. Mariano’s

34. Market Basket

35. Market Place Foods

36. Meijer

37. Pavilions

38. Pay Less

39. Piggly Wiggly

40. Price Chopper

41. Publix

42. QFC

43. Raley’s

44. Ralph’s

45. Roundy’s

46. Ruler Foods

47. Safeway

48. Sam’s Club

49. Savemart

50. Shnucks

51. Shaw’s

52. Shoprite

53. Smart & Final

54. Smith’s Food and Drug

55. Star Market

56. Stop and Shop

57. Target

58. Tops

59. Vons

60. Wegmans

61. Walgreens

62. Walmart

63. Weis Markets

64. Whole Foods

65. WinCo Foods

66. Winn Dixie

67. Other: ______________