Notice2026-06845
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 60-Day Public Comment Request for the Study Food Price Data Collection in the Non-Contiguous States and U.S. Territories
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Published
April 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentFood and Nutrition Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection for the Food Price Data Collection in the Non-Contiguous States and U.S. Territories Study. This is a new information collection request. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) uses information on current food prices for several applications related to research, policy, and consumer education. Accurate food price data are crucial for informing federal nutrition and agricultural policies such as the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which estimates the cost of a healthy diet. The purpose of this study is to fill a gap in existing food price data by collecting and estimating the prices of foods and beverages in the TFP market basket in seven States and Territories: Alaska, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17935-17937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06845]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
60-Day Public Comment Request for the Study Food Price Data Collection
in the Non-Contiguous States and U.S. Territories
AGENCY: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS), United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment
on this proposed information collection for the Food Price Data
Collection in the Non-Contiguous States and U.S. Territories Study.
This is a new information collection request. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) uses information on
current food prices for several applications related to research,
policy, and consumer education. Accurate food price data are crucial
for informing federal nutrition and agricultural policies such as the
Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which estimates the cost of a healthy diet.
The purpose of this study is to fill a gap in existing food price data
by collecting and estimating the prices of foods and beverages in the
TFP market basket in seven States and Territories: Alaska, American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Hawaii,
Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 8, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Kevin Kuczynski, Food and Nutrition
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, Floor 4,
Suite 4080, Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#375c52415e59195c42544d4e59445c5e774244535619505841"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4b202e3d222565203e283132253820220b3e382f2a652c243d">[email protected]</span></a>. Comments will also be accepted
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments electronically.
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 Kevin
Kuczynski by phone at 703-305-2153 or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fc97998a9592d297899f8685928f9795bc898f989dd29b938a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cba0aebda2a5e5a0bea8b1b2a5b8a0a28bbeb8afaae5aca4bd">[email protected]</span></a>.
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.
Title: Food Price Data Collection in the Non-Contiguous States and
U.S. Territories.
Form Number: Not applicable.
OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses
information on current food prices for several applications related to
research, policy, and consumer education. An important application of
data on food prices is in calculating cost adjustments to the Thrifty
Food Plan (TFP) to reflect the food prices in specific areas of the
country as required by law. Retail scanner data reflect the best source
of information on food prices currently available for adjusting the
cost of the TFP to reflect local food prices. However, existing retail
scanner data in specific locations are limited--particularly in the
U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI)--and increasing levels of aggregation present in the scanner
data could limit future analyses for Alaska and Hawaii.
The purpose of this study is to answer the question, ``What are the
prices of foods and beverages in the TFP market basket in each of the
non-contiguous States and U.S. Territories?'' and to explore
development and application of a standardized approach for collecting
sufficiently representative food price data. Study objectives include:
1. Develop a detailed plan for collecting representative food price
data in each of the non-contiguous States and U.S. Territories.
2. Collect food price data in each of the non-contiguous States and
U.S. Territories using the data collection approach developed.
The study will use multiple methods to gather food price data,
including: (1) Electronic retailer data (retailer-provided sales data
from point-of-sale system, retailer-provided price data from inventory
management system, commercial scanner data); (2) WIC EBT data; (3) Web
scraped data (from retailer website); and (4) In-store survey data
(field data collection).
Affected Public: Members of the public affected by the data
collection include: (1) State and local governments, (2) business for-
profit agencies, and (3) business not-for-profit organizations.
1. State and local governments: Staff from the 7 non-contiguous
States and Territories (2 States and 5 U.S. territories) will
participate in data collection activities.
2. Business for-profit agencies: Staff from 244 retailers in the 7
non-contiguous States and Territories (39 in Alaska, 31 in American
Samoa, 30 in CNMI, 36 in Guam, 40 in Hawaii, 42 in Puerto Rico, and 26
in U.S. Virgin Islands) will participate in the study.
3. Business not-for-profit organizations: Staff from 21
organizations in the 7 non-contiguous States and Territories will
participate in the study.
Estimated Number of Respondents The total estimated number of
respondents for the study is 1,299: 546 staff representing State and
local government agencies, 732 staff from business for-profit
organizations, and up to 21 business not-for-profit organizations. We
anticipate all State government staff to be responsive to outreach. Of
the 753 businesses contacted (732 for-profit and 21 not-for-profit), we
anticipate 258 to be responsive and 495 to be nonresponsive. The
breakdown of respondents follows:
1. State and local staff: Of the 21 State staff contacted to
participate in the study (7 SNAP/NAP staff, 7 WIC staff, 7 Department
of Health Staff), 21 staff are estimated to participate in the study
and 0 to be nonresponsive. Of the 525 local SNAP/NAP staff contacted to
participate in the study, 525 are estimated to participate in the study
and 0 to be nonresponsive.
2. Business for-profit organizations: Of the 732 business for-
profit organizations contacted to participate in the study, 244 are
estimated to participate in the study and 488 to be nonresponsive.
[[Page 17936]]
3. Business not-for-profit organizations: Of the 21 business not-
for-profit organizations contacted to participate in the study, 14 are
estimated to participate in the study and 7 to be nonresponsive.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 3.2 (3.9 for
responsive participants and 2.0 for nonresponsive participants). The
estimated breakout is as follows:
1. State SNAP/NAP staff (7): The estimated number of responses per
State SNAP/NAP staff is 7.0. The 7 staff from the 7 non-contiguous
States and Territories will receive an introductory recruitment email
from the study team, will receive an email from the study team asking
for retailer contact information, will share retailer contact
information, will send an introductory email to retailers and local
partners on behalf of the project team, will send an introductory email
to SNAP/NAP local staff on behalf of the project team, and will take
part in pre data collection follow up emails/phone calls.
2. WIC State agency staff (7): The estimated number of responses
per State WIC staff is 6.0. The 7 staff from the 7 non-contiguous
States and Territories will receive an introductory recruitment email
from the study team, will be asked to share retailer contact
information, and will share WIC EBT data.
3. Department of Health staff (7): The estimated number of
responses per State Department of Health staff is 2.0. The 7 staff from
the 7 non-contiguous States and Territories will receive an
introductory recruitment email from the study team and will share
retailer contact information.
4. Local SNAP/NAP staff (525): The estimated number of responses
per local SNAP/NAP staff is 1.0. Up to 525 staff will receive study
introduction letters from their State SNAP/NAP director.
5. Business for-profit organizations (732): The estimated number of
responses per retailers/corporate chains is 10.0 for responsive
organizations (244 organizations) and 2.0 for non-responsive
organizations (488 organizations).
a. All 732 organizations will receive two recruitment emails, one
from the State SNAP/NAP director and one from the study team
accompanied by a one-page summary.
b. Of those 732 organizations, 244 will be identified as priority
retailers/corporate chains and will receive an informational webinar
email and webinar reminder email. We estimate that 61 of the 244
participating organizations will attend the webinar. In addition, these
244 organizations will receive a follow up email confirming
participation and participate in a data collection planning call.
c. We anticipate having to conduct follow-up phone calls with up to
150 of the priority stores that are not responsive; we anticipate
having to call each of these stores up to 3 times.
d. 134 organizations will participate in in-person recruitment.
e. 122 organizations will complete the paperwork required to
receive an honoraria for participation.
f. Of the 244 responsive organizations, 128 will participate in the
in-store survey pre-visit phone call and in-store survey.
g. Of the 244 responsive organizations, 75 will provide scanner
data. We anticipate that some of these organizations will be corporate
chains that can provide scanner data for multiple retailers within the
sample of 244.
h. Of the 244 responsive organizations, 9 will participate in web
scraping.
6. Business not-for-profit organizations (21): The estimated number
of responses for not-for-profit organizations is 2.0 for responsive
organizations and 2.0 for non-responsive organizations. All 21
organizations will receive a notification email, one-page study
information sheet, and request for retailer contact information. The 14
organizations that are responsive will share existing retailer contact
information.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 4,096 (3,106 annual responses for
responsive participants and 990 annual responses for nonresponsive
participants).
Estimated Time per Response: 0.44 hours (0.61 hours for responsive
participants and 0.16 hours for nonresponsive participants).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: Estimated total
annual burden on respondents and nonrespondents: 2,056.2 hours (1,894.1
hours for responsive participants and 162.2 hours for nonresponsive
participants). See table 1 for the estimated total annual burden for
each respondent type.
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
[[Page 17937]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN09AP26.000
Patrick A. Penn,
Deputy Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.
[FR Doc. 2026-06845 Filed 4-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C
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