Appendix B2 Sponsor Informational Brochure

Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP)
Participant Characteristics Study

OMB Control No.:0584-0595
Expiration Date: 8/31/2016
United States Department of Agriculture

Information for Sponsors
Who is conducting the study?

What information will be collected?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has contracted with
Optimal Solutions Group, LLC to conduct the study.

This study will collect information from a variety of sources, including a
survey of all state agencies that administer their states’ Summer Food
Service Program and surveys from a selection of program sponsors
and sites. Surveys will cover topics such as administrative, monitoring,
and application procedures, as well as program participation,
promotion and publicity activities. We will also conduct interviews with
parents/caregivers of both SFSP participants and eligible nonparticipants to find out about their experiences with SFSP. We are
particularly interested in any barriers people experience that might
affect their ability to take advantage of SFSP offerings.

What is the purpose of the study?
This study is sponsored by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.
The purpose of this study is to examine factors that affect the participation of both sponsors and children in Summer Food Service
Programs (SFSP) across the United States. Participation in the
SFSP has fluctuated over the course of the program’s history. Examining factors that affect participation across states is vital to
improving policies that influence the effectiveness of the program.
This study will help the USDA better serve our nation’s youth by
providing for those in need of supplemental nutrition during the
summer. This is the first study of its kind in over a decade and
your participation is critical to its success.
Which objectives will the study meet?

Why is your participation in this study important?
Your participation ensures the accurate description of SFSP
participant characteristics.
The perspective you provide will help the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to better understand the impact of policy changes on
participation in the SFSP. In turn, this will allow states, sponsors, and
sites to better serve children in need of supplemental nutrition during
the summer.



Describe how the SFSP operates at the state, sponsor and
site levels.



Describe the characteristics of SFSP participants.

Research Approval and Privacy Assurances



Examine the differences in participation in the SFSP and factors that affect participation by sponsors and children.

No individual state, sponsor, site or participant will be identified in the
findings. Results will be presented at aggregate levels in all reports.



Examine changes in the SFSP since the 2003 study.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved this
study for all data-collection activities under OMB # 0584-0595.

Which results will the study provide?
The study will provide insight into how the SFSP operates at the
state, sponsor, and site levels and will identify barriers to and factors that support participation by children and sponsors.

The study has been reviewed and approved by the University of
Maryland’s Institutional Review Board.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will receive a detailed report
tabulating and analyzing the data collected.
What is your role in the study?



June 2015: You will be invited to participate in an informational webinar on the SFSP participants characteristics study.



June and August 2015: Optimal will contact you to send a
recruitment email/letter to sites that you sponsor. Please send
the email/letter as soon as possible and within a week of receiving the request.



Mid Summer 2015: Optimal will ask that you complete a
sponsor survey as soon as possible and within three weeks of
receiving it. The survey should take no longer than 30 minutes
to complete.

Any Questions? Please contact us at:
SFSP@OptimalSolutionsGroup.com
Phone: (877) 776-8501
Fax: (301) 985-3760

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 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. An agency may
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
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 Services, Office of Policy Support, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-0595). Do
not return the completed form to this address.