[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70088-70089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24478]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comments Request--Assessment of the Barriers That Constrain the 
Adequacy of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Allotments

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the public and other public agencies to comment on this 
proposed information collection. This is a new collection for the 
purpose of assessing the individual, household, and the environmental 
factors that limit the adequacy of the SNAP allotment.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 12, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Rosemarie Downer, Food and 
Nutrition Service/U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center 
Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted 
via fax to the attention of (703) 305-2576 at (703) 305-2129 or 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 written comments will be open for public inspection at the 
Office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive, 
Room 1014, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will 
be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this information collected should be directed to Rosemarie 
Downer at (703) 305-2129.

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 on 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 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.
    Title: Assessment of the Barriers that Constrain the Adequacy of 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Allotments.
    OMB Number: 0584--NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is 
intended to alleviate food insecurity among low-income households. 
Towards this end, it provides eligible low-income households with a 
monthly benefit amount (SNAP allotment) based on household size and net 
income to purchase foods from authorized retailers that can be prepared 
and eaten at home. SNAP benefits are based on the Thrifty Food Plan, 
which is intended to be a minimal-cost nutritionally adequate diet, but 
has been the subject of significant criticism for being inadequate. In 
2015, about 53 percent of SNAP households experienced food

[[Page 70089]]

insecurity, with about 23 percent of SNAP households experiencing very 
low food security (or severe food insecurity). While participation in 
SNAP for about 6 months is associated with decreased food insecurity, 
it does not guarantee food security or a healthy diet.
    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has examined the current SNAP 
benefit and has raised several concerns about its adequacy. The IOM 
committee recommended that FNS assess the individual, household, and 
the environmental factors that limit the adequacy of the current SNAP 
allotment. To this end, FNS is conducting a survey followed by in-depth 
interviews with SNAP participants. The data collection activities to be 
undertaken subject to this notice include:
     Food and Your Household Survey: SNAP participants selected 
for the study will be asked questions about their food budgets, 
shopping patterns, knowledge and attitudes about healthy diets, 
barriers to purchasing foods to ensure they eat a healthy diet, coping 
strategies when resources are limited, participation in nutrition 
assistance programs, and household characteristics. First, a hard-copy 
survey will be mailed to SNAP participants, and they will be asked to 
return it in a postage-paid envelope. Those with bad addresses and 
those who do not respond to the mailing will be given an option to 
complete a telephone interview.
     In-depth interviews. To supplement the survey data, in-
person in-depth interviews will be conducted with 120 SNAP 
participants. Interviewees will be asked open-ended questions about 
their food budgets, choices, options, preferences, their perceptions of 
a healthy diet, the extent to which they provide and receive food 
assistance from others in their social networks, and why they shop for 
food in specific locations. They will also be asked to narrate a 
``tour'' of their kitchen and eating spaces. In-depth interview 
respondents will be chosen from among survey respondents based on their 
representation of the following analytic categories of interest: Food 
security, rural-urban location, geographical region, and phase of the 
benefit month.
    Affected Public: Respondent groups identified include individuals/
households (SNAP participants).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total sample size for this 
collection is 6,983 individuals/households who will be contacted. Out 
of those, the total number of respondents who will move on to 
participate in part or whole is 4,800. This includes 4,800 SNAP 
participants for the Food and Your Household survey (with an 80 percent 
response rate for eligible respondents) and 120 SNAP participants who 
will complete the in-depth interviews (with an 80 percent response rate 
for eligible respondents) in addition to the SNAP survey.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Participants in the 
survey-only group will respond one time and those in the in-depth 
interview group will respond two times: once to the survey and once to 
the in-depth interview.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 4,920.
    Estimated Time per Response: The surveys will take an average of 30 
minutes (.5 hours). In-depth interviews will take an average of 75 
minutes (1.25 hours).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,691.34 hours.
    See the table below for estimated total annual burden for each type 
of respondent.

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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of     Total annual     burden per     Total burden
           Respondent               respondents    responses per     responses     response (in     (in hours)
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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                                               SNAP Client Survey
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Completed.......................           4,800               1           4,800           0.500        2,400.00
Attempted.......................           1,793               1           1,793           0.067          120.13
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    Survey Total................           6,593  ..............           6,593  ..............        2,520.13
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                                      In-depth Interview with SNAP Clients
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Recruitment Screener:
    Completed...................             216               1             216           0.083           17.93
    Attempted...................              24               1              24           0.033            0.79
In-depth Interview:
    Completed...................             120               1             120           1.250          150.00
    Attempted...................              30               1              30           0.083            2.49
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    In-depth Interviews Total...             390  ..............             390  ..............          171.21
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        Total...................           6,983  ..............           6,983  ..............        2.691.34
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    Dated: October 3, 2016.
Telora T. Dean,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-24478 Filed 10-7-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P