Attachment D3 - Gated Community Letter

Attachment D3. Gated Community Letter

<DATE> <ID>

<Name of Community>

Attn: <Name of Community> Management

<Address>

<Address>

Dear Management,

I am writing to request your help with an important study, the National Food Study (NFS) Pilot. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sponsoring this study of food purchasing and acquisition behaviors to better understand the kinds of foods Americans get, the nutrient content and cost of those foods, and the kinds of places where people get food. We are conducting this study under Section 17 (a) (1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 7 U.S.C. 2026. Researchers and program officials will use the data collected from this study to examine how food choices affect diet quality and reflect decisions about participation in food assistance programs.

Several addresses in the community or building you manage have been selected to participate in the National Food Study. Each of these households was chosen because it represents many other households just like it across the Nation. We have mailed a letter about the NFS to each of these households. The letter explains that a trained Westat interviewer will visit to interview the household and answer their questions about the study. We are not soliciting or selling anything.

I am requesting your permission to allow our interviewer to enter <Name of Community> to speak with residents at the selected addresses. We recognize that you have responsibility for security. Our interviewers wear photo ID badges and are trained on privacy, confidentiality, and ethical practices in research. We monitor them closely. They carry an Interviewer Authorization letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and can show this to you. We respectfully ask that you give the selected households the opportunity to decide if they wish to take part in this important research.

If you have questions, or to discuss arrangements for our interviewer to contact the selected addresses in <Name of Community>, please call our toll-free number, 1-888-xxx-xxxx, weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can also visit our website at https://www.nationalfoodstudy.org.

On behalf of the National Food Study, thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Janice Machado

NFS Project Director