Authority for the collection of this pilot test is provided under 7 U.S.C. Sections 3171 and 2026 (a)(1).   The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this pilot test on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the authority of 13 U.S.C. Section 8(b).

The purpose of this study is to learn about the food and drinks U.S. households get (whether purchased or received for free), where they get them from, and what food and drinks cost in neighborhoods across the country. The USDA will use this information to design policies and programs to help meet the food needs of households in the United States. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected is age, sex, and race/ethnicity.

Disclosure of the information provided to us is permitted under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) and may be shared with other Census Bureau staff for work-related purposes.  Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notice COMMERCE/Census- COMMERCE/Census-3, Demographic Survey Collection (Census Bureau Sampling Frame) and authorized employees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Census Bureau and Department of Agriculture staff have received training on privacy and confidentiality policies and practices. The Census Bureau and USDA are required by law to keep your information confidential and can use your responses for statistical purposes only (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). Access to PII/BII is restricted to authorized personnel only. Access to PII/BII is being monitored, tracked, or recorded on Census Bureau IT systems.

The Census Bureau estimates that for the average respondent, it will take 45 minutes to complete the Household Survey, 15 minutes for the Profile and Income Survey, 15 minutes for the daily Food Log, and 25 minutes for the Closing Survey.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: U.S. Census Bureau, Attn: ADDP-SO, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, D.C. 20223 (USPS) or U.S. Census Bureau, Attn: ADDP-SO, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD  20743 (for private carriers).  You may e-mail comments to census.foodstudy@census.gov.

Respondents are not required to respond to any information collected unless it displays a valid approval number and expiration date from the Office of Management and Budget.  This 8-digit number and expiration date appears at the bottom center of every data collection instrument page.

Your participation is voluntary, however without participation, the Census Bureau will not have enough information to determine if the survey questions and functionality of the online survey is adaptable for all possible participant groups.