Appendix B3 Site 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 Sites
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 non-participants 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.



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

Research Approval and Privacy Assurances



Examine changes in the SFSP since the 2003 study.

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

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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved this
study for all data-collection activities under OMB # 0584-0595
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?
Summer 2015: Optimal will ask that you complete a site 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.