83 FR 11955 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 53 (March 19, 2018)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new collection to study farm to school efforts being conducted for the Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review. The final report will comprehensively examine farm to school and its progress since the passage of the 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm to School Grant Program and general growth of farm to school efforts across the country documented by the Farm to School Census and other data sources. This collection includes a structured web survey with School Food Authority (SFA) Directors as well as semi-structured interviews to be conducted by telephone with distributors of school food.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11955-11959]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05440]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new 
collection to study farm to school efforts being conducted for the Farm 
to School Census and Comprehensive Review. The final report will 
comprehensively examine farm to school and its progress since the 
passage of the 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization, including the 
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm to School Grant 
Program and general growth of farm to school efforts across the country 
documented by the Farm to School Census and other data sources. This 
collection includes a structured web survey with School Food Authority 
(SFA) Directors as well as semi-structured interviews to be conducted 
by telephone with distributors of school food.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to Ashley 
Chaifetz, Ph.D., Social Science Research Analyst, Special Nutrition 
Evaluation Branch, Office of Policy Support, USDA Food and Nutrition 
Service, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may be 
submitted via email to [email protected]. Comments will also 
be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All 
comments will be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed research, contact Ashley Chaifetz, Ph.D., Social Science 
Research Analyst, Special Nutrition Evaluation Branch, Food and 
Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302; 
Fax: 703-305-2576; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on (a) whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
that were used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Title: Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review.
    OMB Number: 0584--NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act authorized and funded USDA to establish a farm to school 
program in order to assist eligible entities through grants and 
technical assistance, in implementing farm to school programs that 
improve access to local foods in schools. This work is housed within 
the FNS Office of Community Food Systems (OCFS). The Farm to School 
Census and

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Comprehensive Review is a 3-year study that will review and describe 
the multiple facets of farm to school, including the USDA Farm to 
School Grant Program and expansion of farm to school efforts across the 
country documented by the Farm to School Census and other data sources. 
The final report will comprehensively examine farm to school efforts 
and their progression since the passage of the 2010 Child Nutrition 
Reauthorization.
    The study will include a literature review to identify current data 
sources for analysis, complete a gap analysis of current farm to 
school-focused publications and data, develop recommendations for 
improving evaluation-related reporting of the USDA Farm to School Grant 
program, and design, conduct, and report on the 2019 Farm to School 
Census, which will be supplemented with additional data sources. The 
results of this study aim to improve the methods and tools used by FNS 
to describe the impact and benefits of formal and informal farm to 
school activities administered by grantees, schools, SFAs, and other 
stakeholders. Ultimately, the study will produce a first-of-its-kind 
report--a comprehensive assessment of farm to school from 2010 to 2020. 
This study will collect and synthesize data collected through a 
national census of SFAs with extant data regarding farm to school 
activities, local sourcing practices, and economic activity associated 
with these practices.
    To accomplish study objectives, two data collections are planned:
    (1) Distributor Survey will obtain the perspectives of large-scale 
food distributors on the processes and challenges to local food 
purchasing and procurement. The respondents for this survey will be 
purposively sampled based on their substantive contributions and 
likelihood of participating. The 60 minute survey will be conducted via 
a phone interview. The survey will contain quantitative questions 
surrounding the volume and cost of local foods purchased and procured 
and qualitative questions about the procurement process. The interview 
will be completed with 20 school food distributors. This survey will be 
exploratory, and will help address whether a larger survey is feasible 
and desirable. Currently, there are no available data on farm to school 
efforts from the standpoint of school food distributors.
    (2) Farm to School Census (2019 Census) will collect data on local 
food purchasing for school meals, school food gardens, other farm to 
school activities and policies, and evidence of the economic and 
nutritional impacts of farm to school activities. The 2019 Census 
Survey will be distributed to all (public \1\ and private) SFA 
Directors in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 
American Samoa, and Washington, DC that participate in the National 
School Lunch Program (NSLP), as part of an invitation to participate 
from the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Child Nutrition Division. The 
online survey is expected to take 30 minutes to complete.
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    \1\ Public includes charter schools that operate NSLP.
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    State Child Nutrition Directors will be asked to provide a list of 
public school district SFAs in the State or territory for the purpose 
of constructing the most up-to-date list frame possible. Available data 
on SFAs from FNS are only available for SFAs that submit income 
verification reports and thus do not provide a complete list of SFAs. 
State Child Nutrition Directors will also be asked to forward a pre-
Census notification email and two email reminders about the Census 
Survey to SFAs.
    The Census will be emailed to all known SFA Directors that 
participate in NSLP. Census Survey questions will be based on prior 
Farm to School Census Survey iterations in 2013 (OMB Control No. 0536-
0069) and 2015 (OMB Control No. 0584-0593), with additional questions 
to address new research questions. The primary mode of data collection 
will be an online survey, with a back-up phone version to those who 
prefer to complete by phone. Non-respondents will receive up to two 
reminder phone calls and up to eight emails. Back-up phone interviews 
and phone reminders will be conducted by trained interviewers, and 
helpdesk staff will be available for technical and completion 
assistance. The Census will be completed once in 2019 with 
approximately 16,000 SFA Directors.
    Affected Public: This study includes two respondent groups: (1) 
Business or Other For Profit (Representatives from national 
distributors that distribute foods to SFA and SFA Directors for private 
schools; and (2) State, Local, and Tribal Government (SFA Directors for 
public schools and State Child Nutrition Directors).
    Estimated Total Number of Respondents: The total estimated number 
of respondents is 20,080 (16,075 respondents and 4,005 non-
respondents). The estimated number of respondents for each of the 
planned data collections are as follows:
    (1) Distributor Survey: The initial sample for the Distributor 
Survey will consist of 25 representatives of school food distributors 
(20 respondents and 5 non-respondents at a response rate of 80 
percent). These 25 distributors will be purposively sampled and 
approached based on a list developed with FNS and this study's Advisory 
Panel.
    (2) Farm to School Census (2019 Census): The total estimated number 
of respondents is the universe of 20,000 SFAs (16,000 respondents and 
4,000 non-respondents). SFAs will receive up to ten reminder emails to 
complete the survey (eight from the study team and two from State Child 
Nutrition Directors). Up to two reminder call attempts will be made to 
a subsample of non-responding SFAs, during which time the respondent 
will be encouraged to complete the survey over the phone. As part of 
the Census Survey, the universe of 55 State Child Nutrition Directors 
will be asked to provide a list of public school district SFAs and 
private schools that administer the NSLP in the State or territory for 
the purpose of constructing the most up-to-date list frame possible, 
and to send three emails to SFAs (one pre-Census notification email and 
two email reminders).
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: The estimated total annual 
responses is 163,685. This includes 94,564 for all respondents and 
69,121 for non-respondents.
    Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: The estimated 
frequency across the entire collection is 8.15. Respondents to the 
Distributor Survey and the Census will be asked to complete each data 
collection instrument one time. FNS estimates that respondents will 
average 5.88 responses (94,564 responses/16,075 respondents) across the 
entire collection, with non-respondents averaging 17.26 responses 
(69,121 responses/4,005 non-respondents). For State Child Nutrition 
Directors, FNS estimates that respondents will average 4 responses (220 
responses/55 respondents) across the entire collection, with no non-
respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response per Respondent: The average estimated 
time is .09 hours for all participants in this collection. Respondents 
will complete each data collection instrument only one time. The 
estimated time of response varies from 0.03 hours to one hour, 
depending on the respondent group, as shown in the table below. The 
average response times for the various respondent groups are listed 
below.
    For the distributor survey, 25 school food distributor 
representatives will receive a ``request to participate'' email. All 20 
respondents will complete a 60

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minute phone interview and will be sent a thank you email at the 
conclusion of the study. For the distributors, the estimated time of 
response is 0.37 hours per response, with non-respondents averaging 
0.03 hours per response.
    For the Census, the average estimated time is 0.36 hours per 
response for responding State Child Nutrition Directors with zero non-
respondents; 0.13 hours per response for public SFA director 
respondents with 0.03 hours per response for public SFA director non-
respondents; and, 0.13 per response for private SFA director 
respondents and 0.03 per response for private SFA director non-
respondents.
    To create the sample frame for the Census, 55 State Child Nutrition 
Directors will receive an email requesting a list of SFA names and 
contact information. The same State Child Nutrition Directors will send 
a pre-Census notification email and two email reminders to the SFAs in 
their State throughout the data collection period to all 20,000 
potential respondents (public and private). These materials will 
explain the Census, and encourage and remind the respondent to complete 
the survey.
    During the data collection period, the study team will send up to 
eight reminder emails to the respondents who have not yet taken the 
survey. These emails are estimated to take respondents 3 minutes (.05 
hours) to review, with non-respondents estimated to take 2 minutes (.03 
hours) to review. Two phone calls will follow to those potential 
respondents that remain, which are estimated to take respondents 3 
minutes and non-respondents 2 minutes to complete. All respondents who 
complete the 30 minute survey will be thanked for their participation 
in the Census (which is estimated to take 2 minutes to complete).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total estimated 
annual burden on respondents is 14,406.03 hours. See the table (Exhibit 
1) for estimated total annual burden for each type of respondent.

    Dated: March 8, 2018.
Brandon Lipps,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-P

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN19MR18.000


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[FR Doc. 2018-05440 Filed 3-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-C