Appendix E2_Scheduling Email – Participant ID for non-FMI members or FMI Referral

Appendix E-2

Scheduling Email—Participant Identified for Non-FMI members or FMI Referral

Exploratory Semi-structured Interviews on Retail Food Loss
Agency: Economic Research Service
Contractor: RTI International

OMB Control Number: #0536-0073
Expiration Date: 04/30/2025

Appendix E-2: Scheduling Email—Participant Identified for
Non-FMI Members or FMI Referral
Hello, [If FMI referral: NAME at FMI suggested I contact you.]
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA, ERS),
RTI International is conducting interviews with food retail companies to help inform the
design of a potential national study on retail-level food loss. Thank you for agreeing to
participate in an interview.
For these interviews we would like to interview the person or persons in your company who
is most knowledgeable about how your company tracks food loss and maintains electronic
data on product shipments and sales. Please email me if you think someone else in your
company should participate in the interview and I will contact them instead.
Taking part in the interview will take about 2 hours—90 minutes for the interview itself and
about 30 minutes of prep time before the interview. Participation is voluntary and
confidential. We have the following days/times available:
•
•
•

Day, Date: Time
Day, Date: Time
Day, Date: Time

Please let me know what data/time works best for you and I will send you an email
invitation with the log-on information. Please feel free to forward the invitation to other
individuals from your company if they would like to participate in the interview and I will
contact them and provide additional information about the study.

•

Attached is the list of interview questions and a summary of the types of data we
would like to collect in a national study. This information is provided for informational
purposes. You do NOT need to answer the questions before the interview. Please
read the attached informed consent form. Please click the link below to sign the
informed consent form before the scheduled interview. Please note that all participants

in the interview will need to sign the informed consent; please provide us with email addresses
for any additional attendees so that we can send them the informed consent prior to the
interview.

[Respondents will click on a live link to electronically sign Attachment F]
Thank you in advance for your help.
Best regards,
Name
[Study Coordinator name]
USDA ERS Retail-Level Food Loss Study
[email address, phone number]

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OMB Control Number: #0536-0073
Expiration Date: 04/30/2025
NOTIFICATION TO RESPONDENT OF ESTIMATED BURDEN: Public reporting burden
for this collection of information is estimated to average 127 minutes per response, including
the time for reviewing instructions 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. The
valid OMB control number for this information collection is #0536-0073. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden to: Linda Kantor, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Economic Research Service (linda.kantor@usda.gov).

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