Notice of Intent To Request New Information Collection
| Published date | 15 July 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 33735 |
| Record Number | 2019-14937 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Economic Research Service |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 135 (Monday, July 15, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 135 (Monday, July 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33735-33737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14937]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Economic Research Service
Notice of Intent To Request New Information Collection
AGENCY: Economic Research Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) intention
to request approval for a Field Test for a new information collection
for a Second National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey
(FoodAPS-2) also called the National Food Study among American
households.
DATES: Written comments must be received by September 13, 2019 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected].
Mail: Linda Kantor, Food Economics Division, Economic
Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Mailstop 1800, Washington, DC 20250.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Linda Kantor, Economic Research
Service, 355 E Street SW, Washington DC 20024-3221.
All comments received will be available for public inspection
during regular business hours at the offices of USDA's Economic
Research Service, 355 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-3221. All
responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request
for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.
Please note that comments submitted after the comment period will not
be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to this
information collection, contact Linda Kantor, 202-694-5392,
[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Agriculture's Economic
Research Service, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, provides the general public and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections
of information. This helps the Economic Research Service (ERS) assess
the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the
public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the
ERS's information collection requirements and provide the required data
in the desired format. ERS is soliciting comments on the proposed
information collection requirement (ICR) that is described below.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology. Please note that written comments received
in response to this notice will be considered public records.
Title of Collection: The Second National Household Food Acquisition
[[Page 33736]]
and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS-2) Field Test.
OMB Control Number: To be assigned by OMB.
Expiration Date: Three years from the date of approval.
Type of Request: New information collection.
Abstract: The Field Test for FoodAPS-2, also known as the National
Food Study to respondents in the field, will be conducted over a four-
month period from January 2021 to April 2021. The Field Test will
collect data from up to 4,000 households, including households
participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP,
formerly the Food Stamp Program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Each participating
household will be asked to log the foods they get over a 7-day period.
FoodAPS-2 data are necessary to understand Americans' food and
nutrition choices, the drivers of these choices, and how the government
can improve administration of public programs at reasonable cost to
better the health and well-being of the American population. The data
will reveal precise and detailed information on: (1) Food purchased for
preparation at home and away from home; (2) food people get for free;
(3) food that each member of the household gets; (4) the nutrient
content of food items people get; (5) the cost of these foods and how
people pay for them (e.g., cash, credit or debit, program benefits,
coupons and discounts); (6) market, demographic, policy and program
characteristics of local areas where people get their food; (7)
household characteristics, including income, participation in Federal
food assistance programs, food security, and health status; and (8) the
complex interrelationship between food, nutrition, economics, program
participation, food environments, and health.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) collected similar data in
2012-2013 with the first National Household Food Acquisition and
Purchase Survey (FoodAPS-1, OMB Control Number 0536-0068). (See the
results at https://www.ers.usda.gov/foodaps). The expected time between
FoodAPS-1 and FoodAPS-2 will be about 11 years, during which time the
structure of the U.S. food economy will have changed dramatically.
American households get their food from a large variety of places,
including: Grocery stores, big box stores, farmers' markets, food
pantries, dine-in restaurants, fast food restaurants, schools, online
retailers, and other food outlets. Food acquisition behaviors have
changed in response to changing markets, household structure, labor
force participation, and other factors. There is special interest in
food demand among low-income households. At some point during each
year, about 1 in 4 Americans participate in at least one of USDA's 15
domestic food and nutrition assistance programs. To evaluate the
efficiency of the programs, USDA needs to better understand the food
acquisition behavior of program participants compared to low-income,
program-eligible, non-participating households. Neighborhoods that lack
access to healthy and affordable food have been of particular concern
for USDA. To this end, USDA needs current, accurate data on household
food acquisitions, food insecurity, food prices, and the availability
of healthful and less-healthful foods.
The main objective of the Field Test is to test the final design
and procedures for the Full Survey data collection. Specifically, the
Field Test will evaluate the following: A mail screener to reduce in-
person screening; enhancements to the data collection instruments that
assess drivers of food acquisition behavior; a new native smartphone
application (to reduce respondent burden); an alternative web-based
Food Log using a barcode scanner, for households who are unable to use
the smartphone app; a telephone mode option for households who are
unable to use either the smartphone app or the web-based method; and
targeted telephone follow-up calls to encourage Food Log reporting
throughout the 7-day period.
All recruited households will receive $40 upon completion of the
Initial Interview and Food Log training. Similarly, all households will
accumulate a $5 per day credit for each eligible household member who
reports both their food purchases and the food they get for free
(including affirmation of no food acquisitions). $2 will be provided to
each household member who completes the Income Worksheet (available
online) and another $2 per person for completing the Profile
Questionnaire (available online and via the app). An additional $16
incentive will be provided to the primary respondent after completion
of a Debriefing Interview at the end of the reporting period.
In addition, two incentive experiments are embedded in the Field
Test. The first incentive experiment varies the amount of a prepaid
incentive included in the mail screener ($2 vs. none). The second
experiment varies the amount of a promised incentive upon completing
the in-person screener ($5 vs. none). The final incentive scheme for
the Full Survey will be determined by the results of Field Test.
Responses will be combined for statistical purposes and reported
only in aggregate or statistical form. Because this is a field test for
the full-scale FoodAPS-2 data collection, there are no plans to make
the collected data available to the public. The data will be analyzed
and used to finalize design and data collection protocol for the Full
Survey.
Authority: Legislative authority for the planned data collection is
Section 17 (a) (1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2026). This section authorizes the Secretary to undertake research that
will help improve the administration and effectiveness of programs
providing nutrition benefits.
Confidentiality: All respondent information collected during the
Field Test will be protected under the statute of the Confidential
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA),
(Title V of Pub. L. 107-347).
Type of Respondents: Individuals and households.
Estimate of Burden: The estimated total number of respondents for
this study is 4,000 contacted households and 4,650 responding
individuals. The estimated total annual burden on respondents is 3,299
hours.
Reporting Burden
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Responses Non-response/not eligible
Sample ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total
Instrument size Freq Freq x Min./ Burden Freq x Min./ Burden burden
Count count resp. hours * Count count resp. hours * hours *
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Household-Level Data
Collection:
First Mailing for Mail 4,000 1 600 600 6 60 3,400 3,400 2 113 173
Screener..................
[[Page 33737]]
Second Mailing for Mail 3,400 1 420 420 6 42 2,980 2,980 2 99 141
Screener..................
Third Mailing for Mail 2,980 1 180 180 6 18 2,800 2,800 2 93 111
Screener..................
Advance letters for In- 2,379 1 2,022 2,022 2 67 357 357 2 12 79
person....................
Household Screener......... 2,022 1 732 732 9 110 1,290 1,290 2 43 153
Consent Form............... 732 1 659 659 5 55 73 73 2 2 57
Initial Household Interview 659 1 467 467 30 234 192 192 3 10 244
Debriefing Interviews...... 732 1 586 586 6 59 146 146 2 5 64
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Total Responding ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... 645 ......... ......... ......... 377 1022
Burden--HH............
Individual-Level Data
Collection Age 11-15:
Training................... 103 1 98 98 45 74 5 5 3 0 74
Assent Form................ 103 1 98 98 1 1 5 5 1 0 1
Food Log................... 98 7 83 581 7 68 15 105 3 5 73
Meals and Snacks Form...... 98 7 83 581 2 19 15 105 1 2 21
Profile Questionnaire...... 98 1 83 83 3 4 15 15 1 0 4
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Total Responding ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... 166 ......... ......... ......... 7 173
Burden--Ind...........
Age 16+:
Training................... 1,014 1 963 963 45 722 51 51 3 3 725
Consent Form............... 1,014 1 963 963 1 16 51 51 1 1 17
Income Worksheet........... 963 1 819 819 15 205 144 144 3 7 212
Food Log **................ 1,201 7 819 5,733 7 669 382 2,674 3 134 803
Meals and Snacks Form **... 1,201 7 1,021 7,147 2 238 180 1,260 1 21 259
Profile Questionnaire **... 1,201 1 1,021 1,021 5 85 180 180 1 3 88
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Total Responding ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... 1,935 ......... ......... ......... 169 2,104
Burden--Ind...........
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Total Responding Burden ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... 2,746 ......... ......... ......... 553 3,299
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* Estimates of burden hours have been rounded.
** Includes estimates by proxy adults reporting for children aged 0-10.
Dated: June 24, 2019.
Ephraim Leibtag,
Acting Administrator, Economic Research Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-14937 Filed 7-12-19; 8:45 am]
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