Appendix AK1 FINI FRN

Appendix AK.1
Federal Register Notice 2015-22782

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This document is scheduled to be published in the
Federal Register on 09/10/2015 and available online at
http://federalregister.gov/a/2015-22782, and on FDsys.gov

BILLING CODE: 3410-34P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comments Request – Evaluation of the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI)
Grant Program
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the
public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a
new collection for the purpose of measuring changes in fruit and vegetable purchases and
consumption, food security, and perceived diet quality and health status among Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants receiving incentives at the point of purchase.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before [insert the date 60 days after
publication in the Federal Register].
ADDRESSES: 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
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on 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

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information 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.
Comments may be sent to: Eric Sean Williams, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park
Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to
the attention of Eric Sean Williams at 703-305-2576 or via e-mail to
eric.williams@fns.usda.gov. 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 written comments will be open for public inspection at the Food and Nutrition Service during
regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive,
Room 1014, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget approval. All comments will be a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collected should be directed to Eric Sean Williams, Office of Policy
Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria,
VA 22302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Evaluation of the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) Grant Program.
OMB Number: 0584-NEW
Expiration Date of Approval: Not Yet Determined.
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Abstract: The Agriculture Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79) authorized USDA to provide Food
Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grants to eligible organizations to design and implement
projects to increase purchases of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers
participating in SNAP by providing incentives at the point of purchase. The objective of this
information collection is to measure changes in fruit and vegetable purchases and consumption,
food security, and perceived diet quality and health status among SNAP participants who receive
incentives through FINI grant projects awarded in FY 2015 and FY 2016. The evaluation will
use a quasi-experimental study design with clustered intervention sites and non-equivalent
comparison groups. Baseline and follow-up data will be collected from (i) SNAP participants in
the intervention (incentive) and the non-incentive comparison groups, (ii) Program Staff (key
informant) interviews, and (iii) grantees. The data collection activities to be undertaken subject
to this notice include:
•

Participant Survey: Two questions for the participant survey that have not been
previously validated will be pretested with 9 SNAP participants. The pretest participants
will not be included in the sample for the participant survey. SNAP participants in the
intervention and comparison groups will be asked questions about their shopping
patterns, knowledge and attitudes about fruits and vegetables, fruit and vegetable intakes,
food security, household characteristics, and their experience with the incentive
programs. Data collection procedures will be the same for the pre- and post-intervention
surveys. At the onset of the voluntary study, a packet containing an advance invitation
letter in English and Spanish, a $5 pre-survey incentive, pre-intervention survey, and
postage paid return envelope will be mailed to participants. Both letters will include
instructions to call a toll-free number; however, the Spanish letter will have an option for

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Spanish Speakers to complete their survey in Spanish. One week after the initial mailing,
participants who have not returned the survey will receive an automated telephone call
reminding them to complete and return the survey. Next, three weeks after the initial
mailing, a FedEx package will be sent to non-responding participants, to underscore the
importance of the study. The FedEx package will include a reminder letter with a tollfree number they can call to complete the survey by phone, a hard copy participant
survey, and postage paid envelope. One week after the 2nd mailing, all non-responding
participants will receive an automated telephone reminder call. About three weeks after
the second mailing, telephone data collectors will attempt to contact sampled participants
who have not returned the survey and try to complete the participant survey by phone. In
the event that the trained interviewer is unable to speak with a person, interviewers will
leave a message on voice mail along with a toll-free number for respondents to call and
complete the survey at their convenience. A thank you letter with a $20 cash incentive
will be mailed to participants completing the survey. Respondents who use their
cellphone to complete the interview will receive an additional $10 (i.e., total of $30) to
reimburse for the minutes used to complete the survey. The invitation letter for postintervention survey and FedEx follow-up letter for the post-intervention survey will be
sent only to pre-intervention survey respondents.
•

Program Staff (Key Informants): State Agencies and Business Grantees will identify
program administrators, retail and market operators and representatives from the
partnering local community organization(s), to participate in two semi-structured
telephone interviews regarding implementation of the incentive program. The interview
procedures will be the same for the two interviews; trained project staff will use the

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interview guide and record the discussions. A thank you postcard will be mailed to all
program staff. Since program staff are expected to cooperate with and contribute to the
independent evaluation, they will be no monetary incentives for their participation in this
study.
•

State, Local or Tribal and Business-for-not-for-profit: Grantees will be emailed on a
quarterly basis, with a request to complete the online minimum core data survey for all
outlets that are involved in the incentive program. As indicated in the program staff
section above, grantees are expected to cooperate with and contribute to the independent
evaluation; therefore, grantees will not receive monetary incentives for their participation
in the evaluation. However, they may receive a summary data report about their FINI
grant project.

Affected Public: Respondent groups identified include: Individuals/Households (SNAP
participants), State/Local or Tribal Government (Respondent Types: grantees and program
administrators), and Profit/Non-Profit Businesses (Respondent Types: grantees, program
administrators, retailers, and community organizations).
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total number of respondents is 10,266. This includes 9
SNAP participants that will pretest 2 survey questions and 10,152 SNAP participants (6,903 will
complete the pre-intervention survey and 3,093 will complete the pre-intervention and postintervention surveys) with an 80 percent response rate for eligible respondents). A total of 105
key informant interviews will be conducted annually (5 State/Local government grantees; 30 for
profit/nonprofit grantees; and 70 retailer/local community staff). The minimum core data form
will be completed by 35 grantees (5 State/Local government grantees and 30 for profit/nonprofit
grantees), on a quarterly basis. Note that some grantees have multiple sites and they will
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coordinate data collection activities with their outlets. The average number of outlets is 302 for
State/Local government grantee and 88 per profit/nonprofit grantee. We expect a 100 percent
response rate for the grantees program staff/ key informant interviews and for the completion and
quarterly submission of the minimum core data.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: SNAP participants and program staff/key
informant interviews will respond two times; grantees will respond 16 times, on average (on a
quarterly basis).
Estimated time per Response: Pretesting 2 questions will take .25 hours. The pre-intervention
and post-intervention surveys completed by mail will take 20 minutes (.334 hours) and those
completed over the telephone will take 25 minutes. Program Staff/ Key informant interviews
will take 1 hour, and the minimum core data form will take about 20 minutes per outlet, per
quarter.
Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 17,584.2 hours. See the table below for estimated total
burden for each type of respondent.
The burden is broken down by respondent type:

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Pretest for two Survey Questions

Sub-Total Annual
Burden

Average Hours per
response

Total Annual
Responses

Frequency of
Response (annual)

Number of non respondents

Sub-Total Annual
Burden

Average Hours per
Response

Total Annual
Responses

9

1

9

.25

2.25

0

0

0

0

0

2.25

Invitation letter for the Pre-intervention
Survey (a)

10,152

9,137

1

9,137

0.0835

762.92

1015

1

1015

0.084

84.77

847.69

Pre-intervention Mail Survey (b)

10,152

4,142

1

4,142

0.3340

1383.43

6010

1

0

0.334

0.00

1383.43

7,106

7,106

2

14,213

0.0167

237.35

0

2

0

0.017

0.00

237.35

7,106

6,751

1

6,751

0.0668

450.97

355

1

355

0.067

23.74

474.71

Pre-intervention Survey Telephone
Interview (e)

6,010

2,761

2

5,523

0.0167

92.23

3249

2

0

0.017

0.00

92.23

Pre-intervention survey automated
reminder (f)

6,010

6,010

1

6,010

0.4175

2509.17

0

1

0

0.418

0.00

2509.17

Pre-intervention Survey thank you letter
with incentive (g)

6,903

6,903

1

6,903

0.0334

230.57

0

1

0

0.033

0.00

230.57

Invitation letter for the Post-intervention
(h)

5,523

4,970

1

4,970

0.0835

415.03

552

1

552

0.084

46.11

461.14

Post-intervention Mail Survey (b)

5,523

1,856

1

1,856

0.3340

619.78

3667

1

0

0.334

0.00

619.78

Post-intervention survey automated
telephone reminder (c)

3,866

3,866

1

3,866

0.4175

1614.01

0

1

0

0.418

0.00

1614.01

3,866

3,673

1

3,673

0.0668

245.33

193

1

193

0.067

12.91

258.24

3,667

1,237

2

2,474

0.0167

41.32

2430

2

4860

0.017

81.16

122.48

Post-intervention Survey automated
reminder (f)

3,667

3,667

2

7,334

0.0167

122.48

0

2

0

0.017

0.00

122.48

Post-intervention Survey thank you letter
with incentive (g)

3,093

3,093

1

3,093

0.0334

103.30

0

1

0

0.033

0.00

103.30

10,161

9,146

8,830.14

1015

248.7

9078.83

Key informant (KI) Interview Scheduling
(script) (i), Year 1

2

2

1

2

0.0835

0.17

0

2

0

0.08

0

KI Interview (guide) (i), Year 1

2

2

1

2

1.0000

2.00

0

2

0

1.00

0

Post-intervention Survey FedEx follow-up
(d)
Post-intervention Survey Telephone
interview (e)

Grantees and
Administrators*

Total
Burden
Hours

9

Pre-intervention Survey Automated
telephone reminder (c)
Pre-intervention Survey FedEx follow-up
(d)

SNAP
participants

Frequency of
Response (annual)

Respondent
Description

Number of
Respondents

Sample size

Type of Survey Instrument

79,953

7

6976

2.00

Grantees and
Administrators/
Retailers/Local
Community Org.
Staff*

Thank you postcard, Year 1

2

2

1

2

0.1670

0.33

0

2

0

0.17

0

0.33

Minimum core data request email (j), Year
1

2

2

4

8

0.0835

0.67

0

8

0

0.08

0

0.67

Minimum core data form (j), Year 1

2

2

4

8

100.6667

805.33

0

4

0

100.67

0

805.3

KI Interview Scheduling (script) (i), Year 2

3

3

1

3

0.0835

0.25

0

1

0

0.08

0

0.3

KI Interview (guide) (i), Year 2

3

3

1

3

1.0000

3.00

0

1

0

1.00

0

3.0

Thank you postcard, Year 2

3

3

1

3

0.1670

0.50

0

1

0

0.17

0

0.5

Minimum core data request email (j), Year
2

3

3

4

12

0.0835

1.00

0

4

0

0.08

0

1.0

Minimum core data form (j), Year 2

3

3

4

12

100.6667

1208.00

0

4

0

100.67

0

1208.0

Minimum core data request email (j), Year
3

3

3

4

12

0.0835

1.00

0

4

0

0.08

0

1.0

Minimum core data form (j), Year 3

3

3

4

12

100.6667

1208.00

0

4

0

100.67

0

1208.0

5

5

79

40.8894

3230.26

0

0

3230.26

Grantee Key Informant ( KI) Interview
Scheduling (script) (i), Year 1

13

13

1

13

0.0835

1.09

0

2

0

0.080

0

0.00

Grantee KI Interview (guide) (i), Year 1

13

13

1

13

1.0000

13.00

0

2

0

1.000

0

13.00

Grantee Thank you postcard, Year 1

13

13

1

13

0.1670

2.17

0

2

0

0.167

0

2.17

13

13

4

52

0.0835

4.34

0

8

0

0.084

0

4.34

13

13

4

52

29.3077

1524.00

0

4

0

29.308

0

1524.00

30

30

1

30

0.0835

2.51

0

1

0

0.084

0

2.51

Grantee KI Interview (guide) (i), Year 2

30

30

1

30

1.0000

30.00

0

1

0

1.000

0

30.00

Grantee Thank you postcard, Year 2

30

30

1

30

0.1670

5.01

0

1

0

0.167

0

5.01

30

30

4

120

0.0835

10.02

0

4

0

0.084

0

10.02

30

30

4

120

29.3077

3516.92

0

4

0

29.308

0

3516.92

30

30

4

120

0.0835

10.02

0

4

0

0.084

0

10.02

30

30

4

120

0.0167

2.00

0

4

0

0.017

0

2.00

Grantee Minimum core data request email
(j), Year 1
Grantee Minimum core data form (j), Year
1
Grantee KI Interview Scheduling (script) (i),
Year 2

Grantee Minimum core data request email
(j), Year 2
Grantee Minimum core data form (j), Year
2
Grantee Minimum core data request email
(j), Year 3
Grantee Minimum core data form (j), Year
3

8

0

Retailer KI Interview Scheduling (script) (i),
Year 1

70

70

1

70

0.0835

5.85

0

1

0

0.08

0

5.85

Retailer KI Interview (guide) (i), Year 1

70

70

1

70

1.0000

70.00

0

2

0

1.00

0

70.00

Retailer Thank you postcard, Year 1

70

70

1

70

0.0167

1.17

0

2

0

0.02

0

1.17

Retailer KI Interview Scheduling (script) (i),
Year 2

70

70

1

70

0.0835

5.845

0

1

0

0.0835

0

5.845

Retailer KI Interview (guide) (i), Year 2

70

70

1

70

1.0000

70

0

2

0

1.0000

0

70

Retailer Thank you postcard, Year 2

70

70

1

70

0.0167

1.169

0

2

0

0.0167

0

1.169

100

100

1133

4.656

5275.11

0

0

0.00

5274.02

10,266

9,251

81,165

0.214

17,335.55

1015

6976

248.69

17,584.15

Dated: September 4, 2015.

Yvette S. Jackson
Food and Nutrition Service

Acting Administrator

[FR Doc. 2015-22782 Filed: 9/9/2015 08:45 am; Publication Date: 9/10/2015]

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