D.1 SCANR Survey Initial Cover Letter

OMB Control Number: 0584-XXXX
Expiration date: XX/XX/XXXX

D.1—SCANR Recruiting Letter: FNS Letterhead

«FNS Store Number»
«Retailer Name»
«Company»
«Address»
«City», «State» «ZIP»

Dear «Retail_Manager»:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is conducting a nationwide survey and we are asking for your help.

There is a new law (the 2014 Farm Bill) that will affect retailers, like yourself, who are authorized to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The new law will require all SNAP–authorized retailers to use scanners at checkout to accept SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) benefits.

FNS has contracted with RTI International to conduct this survey so that we can better understand how the new law might affect small businesses. The information you provide will help FNS establish rules that may make meeting this requirement easier for you as a small retailer.

Your store is one of 1,377 small retailers chosen randomly to take the survey. Whether or not you already have a scanner system in place, your help is very important!

The new law may require SNAP retailers to buy specific equipment as well as pay additional staff time to continue to accept SNAP benefits. Without your participation in the survey, FNS will not know the full effect of the new law or how to minimize the burden on small retailers.

Completing the survey is voluntary, and the information you provide will not affect your authorization to accept SNAP benefits. Your individual survey results will not be reported to FNS.

Please complete and return the survey form in the prepaid envelope provided. If you would rather complete the survey online, you can do so by following these instructions:

1. In your Web browser, type the study’s Web site address: https://scanr.rti.org.

2. On the login screen, type your username and password exactly as shown below:

Username: [Case ID]

Password: [Password]

The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete. We ask that you complete the survey online or by mail within 2 weeks of receipt.

The enclosed frequently asked questions (FAQs) sheet provides more information on the survey. If you have any questions on the survey, please contact the Survey Helpline toll-free at 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX or SCANR_Survey@rti.org.

Thank you for your help in this important effort.

Sincerely,

Andrea Gold

Director
Retailer Policy and Management Division, SNAP
FNS, USDA

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it ‎displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-XXXX. The time required to ‎complete this information collection is estimated to average 2 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.

Page 1 of 1