Appendix C1_Recruitment Email_Rev_07_20_23

Appendix C-1

Recruitment Email

Exploratory Semi-structured Interviews on Retail Food Loss—Wave 2

Agency: Economic Research Service

Appendix C-1: Recruitment Email¹

Subject line: Request for Response: USDA Retail-Level Food Loss Study

Dear [contact name],

In coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA, ERS), RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, is conducting interviews on the topic of food loss with a small number of food retail companies. Food loss is an issue of national and global importance with implications for nutrition security, environmental sustainability, and economic growth. The purpose of the interviews is to collect information to help inform the design of a potential national study on retail-level food loss. [If independent operator:] To make such a study a success, we need the help of independent retailers like you.

We would like to interview the person or persons at [company] who are most knowledgeable about how your company tracks food loss and maintains data on product flows. This might be someone in operations, finance, supply chain management, or procurement, or someone in sustainability or food waste reduction. Participation is voluntary and confidential. The interview itself will take no more than 30 minutes.

Please reply to my email if you are willing to participate or to recommend someone within your company I should contact (including an email and phone number). I will follow up by email to schedule an interview and to provide more information. Thank you for your assistance with this important study.

Best regards,

[Study Coordinator name]

USDA, ERS Retail-Level Food Loss Study

[email address, phone number]

Principal Investigator: Mary Muth, PhD

OMB Control Number: 0536-0073

Expiration: 04/30/2025

NOTIFICATION TO RESPONDENT OF ESTIMATED BURDEN: Public reporting burden for this Recruitment email is estimated to average 5 minutes per response. 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).

1 We will initially contact companies by email instead of phone if an email address is available through online searches. After sending the email in Appendix C-1, we will follow up to schedule the interview and provide more information by sending the email in Appendix C-2.