Agency Information Collection Activities: Scratch Cooking Assessment & Learning Evaluation (SCALE) and Partnerships for Local Agriculture and Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) Data Request for School Food Authorities
| Published date | 04 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-04492 |
| Citation | 89 FR 15544 |
| Court | Agriculture Department,Food And Nutrition Service |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 43 (Monday, March 4, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 43 (Monday, March 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15544-15545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04492]
[[Page 15544]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Scratch Cooking
Assessment & Learning Evaluation (SCALE) and Partnerships for Local
Agriculture and Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) Data
Request for School Food Authorities
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) is a cooperative argreement
recipient from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's)
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). CAF plans to collect additional
information from sub-grantees, based on an assessment and data report,
which is beyond the information already approved under OMB Control
Number: 0584-0512 (Expiration Date: July 31, 2025). FNS already has OMB
approval for collection of information associated with these grants
under the Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement Discretionary
Grants, as approved under OMB Control Number: 0584-0512. This notice
solicits public comment on the additional information proposed for
collection.
DATES (if applicable): Written comments must be received on or before
April 3, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Brittany Gorman, Food and Nutrition
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, via email to
[email protected]. 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 comments will be a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Brittany
Gorman at 703-305-2621 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 of 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 information to be 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.
Background
In 2023, CAF was selected as one of four cooperative agreement
holders for the USDA FNS Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative School
Food System Transformation Challenge. As part of this initiative, CAF
created the sub-grant program, Partnerships for Local Agriculture and
Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS), and will award eight
proposals for projects working to build more resilient local food
supply chains and expand scratch cooking in schools. PLANTS is already
approved under Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement
Discretionary Grants, OMB Control Number 0584-0512 with an expiration
of July 31, 2025. Eligible applications must be collaboratively
administered by at least three Partners and no more than five Partners.
An eligible application must include at least one School Food Authority
(SFA) and is permitted to include up to four SFAs. SFAs that are
awarded a PLANTS grant will be required to complete the SCALE
assessment and the PLANTS Data Request annually, for a total of three
times, throughout the grant period (April 2024-June 2027).
Scratch Cooking in School Meal Programs
Every day 31 million children rely on school meals to meet their
nutritional needs so they are well nourished and ready to learn. CAF is
dedicated to promoting whole-ingredient, scratch cooking in schools by
providing school nutrition professionals with the funding and support
they need to transition their meal programs to include more scratch
cooking.
Scratch cooking uses real food with real ingredients and has the
potential to catalyze multiple benefits across the school food system--
environmental, economic, social. In the context of USDA's Healthy Meals
Incentives Initiative and the PLANTS grant, scratch cooking also
enables SFAs to play a critical role in building more resilient
regional food systems. By leveraging their food purchases, SFAs have
the potential to become meaningful markets for local producers (e.g.,
farmers, ranchers, fisherfolk), food hubs, and other food businesses.
These dollars have powerful ripple effects on local economies that
build greater prosperity and food system resilience while feeding
children fresher, high-quality, and nutritious foods.
The benefits of scratch cooking are clear. However, many SFAs that
want to improve their meal programs do not have the bandwidth to assess
their current operations or determine where to start.
How does the scale assessement and plants data request support scratch
cooking in schools?
After over 12 years of school food operational support, CAF built
SCALE, an online database that offers the first comprehensive self-
assessment focused on improving nutrition, enhancing school meal
programs, and increasing scratch cooking. This assessment examines a
district's food service operation practices in 6 Key Areas:
Food--menu cycles, procurement, reporting
Scratch Cooking--ingredients, processed elements
Finances--budgets, revenue/deficit, labor cost
Facilities--equipment, production, storage
Human Resources--personnel, professional development
Marketing--communication channels, lunchroom education
activities
Once a district completes the assessment, the platform generates an
individualized report with recommended practices designed to increase
operational capacity and levels of scratch cooking. The PLANTS Data
Request, which has been customized for the PLANTS program, supplements
data collected from SFAs via the SCALE assessment and includes up to
two years of data related to an SFA's meal counts, financial,
procurement, menu, educational, and marketing practices. The SCALE
assessment and PLANTS Data Request lay the foundation for all strategic
planning, technical assistance, and evaluative support that CAF
provides SFAs to transition to scratch cooking and achieve their PLANTS
project goals.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit; and State, local,
and Tribal government. Respondent groups identified include a
representative from each subgrantee and any Partner that is a SFA or
School District. Representatives may include the Food Service Director
and/or a designated food service employee. A School Food Authority is
defined as the administering body for the operation of
[[Page 15545]]
a school feeding program (such as the National School Lunch Program and
School Breakfast Program). This may be a school district, several
school districts, or individual schools. Schools can be public, public
charter, or private schools.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
respondents is 32. PLANTS will award eight grants to projects that are
collaboratively administered by at least three partners and no more
than five partners. An eligible application must include at least one
SFA and is permitted to include up to four SFAs. Therefore, a minimum
of eight SFAs and a maximum of 32 SFAs will complete the SCALE
assessment and PLANTS Data Request. It is expected that a majority of
the Directors of the SFAs will complete the assessment (24), while
larger organizations may require other food service personnel to
complete the assessment (8).
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: The estimated number
of responses per respondent is 1 per year. SFAs will be asked to
complete the SCALE assessment and PLANTS Data Request three separate
times during the grant implementation period between April 2024-June
2027.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 32.
Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average time for this
collection is 4.5 hours. FNS estimates that it will take each
respondent 1.5 hours to complete the SCALE assessment and 3 hours to
complete the PLANTS Data Request.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 144.00 hours. See the
table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of
respondent.
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Estimated avg.
Estimated Responses Total annual number of Estimated
Respondents number of annually per responses hours per total hours
respondents respondent response
(A)......................... (B) (C) (B) x (C) = (E) (D) x (E) =
(D) (F)
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Reporting Burden
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Local Government.......................... Director of Food Services... 23 1 23 4.5 103.5
Food Service Employee....... 8 1 8 4.5 36
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Sub-total............................. ............................ 31 .............. 31 .............. 139.5
For-Profit Business....................... Food Service Director....... 1 1 1 4.5 4.5
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Total................................. ............................ 32.00 1 32.00 4.5 144.00
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The supporting statement for approved Information Collection
Request 0584-0512 explicitly states that if FNS decides to use the
uniform grant application package, FNS will note in the grant
solicitation that applicants must use the uniform grant application
package, and that the information collection has already been approved
by OMB. If FNS determines that it needs grant applicants to provide
additional information not contained in the uniform package, then FNS
will publish at least a 30-day notice soliciting comments on its
proposal to collect different or additional information before issuing
the grant solicitation. FNS is publishing this 30-day notice to solicit
public comment and meet that requirement.
FNS will consider and utilize public comments to adjust the
collection of additional information as appropriate and necessary.
Tameka Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-04492 Filed 3-1-24; 8:45 am]
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