USDA: Fast Food Chains

Anthony Roberts filed this request with the U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary of the United States of America.

It is a clone of this request.

Status
Completed

Communications

From: anthony roberts

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Documents (external and internal emails, faxes, interviews, and reports) from January 1st, 2014 through August 7th, 2016, authored by, generated by, or received by, the United States Department of Agriculture that mention or communicate directly with the following "fast food" chains:

Papa Johns
Jack in the Box
Arby's
Dairy Queen
Little Caesars
Carl's Jr./Hardees
Chipotle
Sonic Drive-In
Domino's
Panera
KFC
Pizza Hut
Chick-fil-A
Dunkin' Donuts
Taco Bell
Wendy's
Burger King
McDonalds
Subway
Starbucks

I am a professional journalist, the requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. I would therefore ask that any fees be waived.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

anthony roberts

From: USDAFOIA - OCIO

Mr. Roberts,

Please clarify. You did not specify, but are you seeking records located in USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)? I've made a couple of calls and learned that AMS might be the agency with records that are responsive to your request.

Thank you.

FOIA Service Center

From: anthony roberts

Yes, that is exactly what I am looking for, and the department that I believe would have those records. Would you be able to forward this request on to them?

Thank you.

From: USDAFOIA - OCIO

Good Evening, Mr. Roberts:

This letter acknowledges receipt of your below August 7, 2016, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) FOIA Service Center (FSC). Your request was received in this office on August 7, 2016 and confirmed on August 29, 2016.

The FOIA Service Center is under the purview of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and serves as the focal point for USDA's FOIA program. The FSC provides coordination and ensures agency wide compliance with the FOIA. The FSC processes requests and appeals on behalf of the Office of the Secretary and Departmental Management's ("DM") components. For a complete listing of DM's components, please visit http://www.dm.usda.gov/agencies.htm.

Upon review of your request, the FSC has determined that the records sought are likely to be maintained by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), a USDA component. Therefore, according to USDA regulation 7 C.F.R. § 1.5(f), the FSC is routing your request to the FOIA Officer for AMS for processing and direct response to you. In the event you have questions regarding your request, please contact the agency using the contact information below:

Gregory Bridges
FOIA/PA Officer

Agricultural Marketing Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Stop 0202

South Building, Room 3943

Washington, DC 20250-0273

Tel. 202-720-2498

Email: AMS.FOIA@USDA.GOV<mailto:AMS.FOIA@USDA.GOV>

For additional information regarding USDA FOIA regulations and frequently requested documents, please visit the USDA FOIA homepage at www.dm.usda.gov/foia<http://www.dm.usda.gov/foia>. There you can access our Public Access Link (PAL). Once registered, PAL allows you to: 1) submit a FOIA request to any of our 20 USDA component agencies electronically, 2) check the status of your FOIA request, and 3) download responsive documents as they become available.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this letter, please contact Department FOIA Team Lead, Marqui Q. Barnes at (202) 694-1802 or electronically at marqui.barnes@ocio.usda.gov or USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov<mailto:USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov>.

We appreciate the opportunity to assist you in this matter.
Regards,

USDA Department FOIA Service Center

cc: Gregory Bridges, AMS FOIA/PA Officer

From: Bridges, Gregory - AMS

Dear Mr. Roberts:

This email confirms receipt of your July 1 2016, FOIA request (see attached). Your request was received on August 30, 2016.

The FOIA regulation 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) requires USDA to make a determination in response to a FOIA request within 20 business days from its date of receipt. In unusual circumstances, the Federal agency time limit may be extended by 10 business days as stated in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B).

In addition, are you available to speak on September 2, 2016 at 12:00pm EST about your request? I want to ask you a few questions that would help us in our search for responsive records. If you are able to speak at this time, please provide me with a contact number. If you would like to speak at a different time, please let me know as well.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Greg Bridges
FOIA Officer
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Stop 0202
Washington, D.C. 20250

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

From: Bridges, Gregory - AMS

Dear Mr. Roberts:

I have not received a reply to our request to discuss your request. As a result I will reschedule this meeting for September 9, 2016 at 12:00pm EST. If you are able to speak at this time, please provide me with a contact number. If you would like to speak at a different time, please let me know as well.

Dear Mr. Roberts:

This email confirms receipt of your July 1 2016, FOIA request (see attached). Your request was received on August 30, 2016.

The FOIA regulation 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) requires USDA to make a determination in response to a FOIA request within 20 business days from its date of receipt. In unusual circumstances, the Federal agency time limit may be extended by 10 business days as stated in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B).

In addition, are you available to speak on September 2, 2016 at 12:00pm EST about your request? I want to ask you a few questions that would help us in our search for responsive records. If you are able to speak at this time, please provide me with a contact number. If you would like to speak at a different time, please let me know as well.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Greg Bridges
FOIA Officer
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Stop 0202
Washington, D.C. 20250

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
------
No, Mr. Ye does not have an email address.

From: Michael, Matthew - AMS
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 4:20 PM
To: Thornblad, Kristin - AMS
Cc: Bridges, Gregory - AMS
Subject: FW: Rosewood 12600

He doesn’t, does he? Thanks.

Matthew Michael
Director, Compliance and Enforcement Division
USDA National Organic Program
1400 Independence Ave SW; Room 2959
Washington, DC 20250-0268
Phone: (202) 260-8657
matthew.michael@ams.usda.gov

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

From: Bridges, Gregory - AMS
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 4:19 PM
To: Michael, Matthew - AMS <Matthew.Michael@ams.usda.gov>
Subject: Rosewood 12600

Hi Matthew:

Does Mr. Ye have an email address?

Greg

From: Bridges, Gregory - AMS

Dear Mr. Roberts:

I have not received a reply to our request to discuss your request. As a result I will reschedule this meeting for September 9, 2016 at 12:00pm EST. If you are able to speak at this time, please provide me with a contact number. If you would like to speak at a different time, please let me know as well.

Dear Mr. Roberts:

This email confirms receipt of your July 1 2016, FOIA request (see attached). Your request was received on August 30, 2016.

The FOIA regulation 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) requires USDA to make a determination in response to a FOIA request within 20 business days from its date of receipt. In unusual circumstances, the Federal agency time limit may be extended by 10 business days as stated in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B).

In addition, are you available to speak on September 2, 2016 at 12:00pm EST about your request? I want to ask you a few questions that would help us in our search for responsive records. If you are able to speak at this time, please provide me with a contact number. If you would like to speak at a different time, please let me know as well.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Greg Bridges
FOIA Officer
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Stop 0202
Washington, D.C. 20250

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

From: Bridges, Gregory - AMS

Mr. Roberts:

I have not received responses to my requests to speak with on September 1, 2016 and September 9, 2016 about your request. Therefore, I will provide you with a written request for additional information about your request. You should expect to receive this no later than September 12, 2016.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Greg Bridges
FOIA Officer
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Stop 0202
Washington, D.C. 20250

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

From: anthony roberts

Mr. Bridges-

I left you a voicemail last week and followed up with an email (containing my phone number) from my personal account on September 8th. Please call me back so we can discuss this request.

~Anthony Roberts

From: Bridges, Gregory - AMS

We provided a response to this request and sent our determination to another email provided by Mr. Roberts.
Thanks

Greg Bridges
FOIA Officer
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Stop 0202
Washington, D.C.

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