Food Consumption Score

Outcome

Impact

% of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS)

The Food Consumption Score (FCS) is a composite score that reflects a household’s dietary diversity, food consumption frequency, and the relative nutritional value of the foods eaten. It is a proxy indicator of household food intake or caloric consumption. Cut-off thresholds are applied to the FCS to classify households into three groups: poor, borderline, or acceptable food consumption. Its reliance on a relatively long seven-day recall period may reduce data precision, as households may have difficulty remembering their exact consumption. Despite this limitation, the FCS remains one of the most widely used indicators of food security.

The Food Consumption Score (FCS) aggregates household-level food consumption data, accounting for how many days, within the last 7-day reference period, a household consumed foods from eight different food groups (plus condiments).

To determine the score, use the following methodology:

 

1) Prepare the questionnaire: Use the WFP standard questions that ask about the types of foods consumed in the past 7 days (see the questionnaire below). While the eight standard food groups (plus condiments) cannot be changed, you should adjust the examples of food items listed under each group to ensure they are locally relevant and easily understood, including in local languages.

The group “Condiments” is included to capture foods eaten in very small amounts and to prevent these from being misclassified as nutritious food groups. Small quantities of main food items (such as a sprinkle of fish powder) should be recorded as condiments, and this distinction needs to be clearly explained and practiced during enumerator training (refer to small quantities guide below).

Sources of consumed food groups can also be collected, but the inclusion of these questions are optional and do not factor into the FCS calculation (see WFP questionnaire below).

2) Conduct individual interviews with a representative sample of the target household representatives assessing how many days in the past 7 days have the household members eaten foods from any of the 8 pre-defined food groups (plus condiments) as defined by WFP. Use the following question: "I would like to ask you about all the different foods that your household members have eaten in the last 7 days, either inside or outside the home. How many days in the past 7 days have most of your household members eaten ..." [name the foods included in the first food group, then continue asking the same question about foods from the following food groups; see slide 10 of WFP's training module below].

  

3) For each respondent household, multiply the consumption frequency obtained for each food group by its 'weight' (see slide 55 and 72 of WFP's training module below to understand the 'weight' of each food group).

 

4) For each respondent household, sum the weighed food group scores, thus creating their Food Consumption Score (FCS). 

  

5) According to the FCS's value, indicate the percentage of households with “poor” FCS (0-21 scores), “borderline” FCS (21,5 - 35 scores), and “acceptable” FCS (more than 35 scores). In contexts where the consumption of oil and sugar is high, the thresholds are higher (see slide 73 of WFP's training module below). 

 

6) To calculate the percentage of households with “acceptable” FCS, divide the number of households with FCS higher than 35 scores by the total number of surveyed households. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

Disaggregation of the data can be done by gender of household head, population group, geographical area, wealth and other relevant criteria, provided the sample size is sufficient to ensure reliable representation.

1) Take advantage of the useful guidance provided in WFP's slides on using the FCS indicator - see below. 

 

2) Enumerators must ask "How many days ...?", not "How many times ...?", because multiple meals from the same food group in a single day count as one day of consumption. Responses must be recorded as whole number from 0 to 7; any value above 7 must not be permitted. Record “don't know”/”not applicable” responses as missing; these will later be dropped from the FCS analysis.

3) Train enumerators on what quantities of food can be included in the main food groups and what, on the other hand, counts as condiments. Test their understanding extensively using practical scenarios. Take advantage of the brief WFP “Small Quantities” guidance provided below.

4) FCS is based on dietary diversity, not on Sphere recommendations of Kcal / day. In countries where the Food Basket is based on Kcal / day, it might not include enough proteins and dairy products. Therefore, achieving an “acceptable” FCS would be extremely difficult in spite of household members eating sufficient calorie intake.

 

5) FCS is a good indicator of a household's food security; however, it does not help with understanding the quality of diets consumed by a specific group of household members, such as children 6-59 months of age.

  

6) FCS is prone to seasonal variations. Do your best to collect baseline and endline data at the same time of the year; otherwise, it is very likely that they'll not be comparable (i.e. providing largely useless data). Make sure you do not collect data during fasting periods, such as pre-Easter time or Ramadan.

 

7) In the context of this indicator, "... most of your household members ..." means half or more of the household members - make sure that the enumerators understand this well. Additionally, ensure that the enumerators emphasize that the main question concerns both meals consumed inside and outside the home.  

 

8) The Food Consumption Score (FCS) is a proxy measure of households’ current food security status, reflecting dietary diversity, food consumption frequency, and the relative nutritional value of consumed food groups. However, the FCS does not directly measure dietary quality or nutrient adequacy. The Food Consumption Score – Nutritional Quality Analysis (FCS-N) helps in capturing how often households consume foods rich in vitamin A, protein, and heme iron. When possible, report FCS and FCS-N together to provide a more comprehensive picture of food security and diet quality; strengthening the FCS by revealing the micronutrient patterns. Guidance on using FCS-N is provided in the document below.

9) BHA phrases the indicator differently, as "percent of households with poor, borderline, and acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS)", and recommends also reporting results on mean, median, confidence interval and population (number of households). BHA applies a 9-food-group version of the FCS, which slightly differs from the WFP methodology in how some food groups are combined or separated. Use the BHA version where donor guidance requires it.