Acceptable Food consumption Score (FCS)
Indicator Name
Indicator ID in PRIME
Definition
The Food Consumption Score (FCS) is a composite score reflected as a percentage based on dietary diversity, food frequency, and the relative nutritional importance of different food groups. It is a proxy indicator for food intake.
This indicator is gauged through the use of surveys and the following should be noted:
- Country adaptation: The FCS questionnaire module should be adapted for each unique setting so that common, local foods are included in each food category in the questionnaire. The food groups, however, cannot be changed.
- Food inclusion and exclusion criteria: The respondent should be instructed to include foods consumed by household members in the home or foods prepared in the home but consumed away from home (e.g., lunch prepared at home but consumed in the fields or at the place of employment). In rare cases, however, food purchased and consumed away from home may be included in the FCS questionnaire; this may be appropriate in country contexts where all or the majority of meals are consumed away from home by some or all household members. Clearly document in the PIRS which consumption patterns are included or excluded so subsequent surveys will use the same protocol and data may be interpreted, corrected, and compared.
Numerator
Number of respondents whose households have a Food Consumption Score above the threshold in a survey
Denominator
All respondents to the survey
This indicator is measured using 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 9 pre-defined food groups.
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].
To calculate the FCS, the consumption frequencies are summed and multiplied by the standardized food group weight. Households are then classified into three groups based on their weighted scores—poor, borderline, or acceptable—using the World Food Program recommended cutoff points (or approved, country-specific cutoff points if these have been established). A household is defined as a person or group of persons that usually live and eat together.
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.
Indicator Prioritisation
Level of Indicator
Indicator Context Type
Theme
Sub Theme
Common Approach
Total Reach Indicator
Frequency of Data Collection
Unit of Measure
Data Format
Direction of Desired Change
Number of Decimal Points
Indicator is Rounding
Nature
Recommended Disaggregations
Kobo Form Questions
"In the past week, approximately how many days has your household eaten cereals and tubers?"
Same question with other food categories
Other
MPCA PDM Survey: Food Consumption Score (FCS) section:
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/MPCA-PDM-Survey-Template.xlsx/
WFP VAM: page 8 for food group weightings found here https://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/manual_guide_proced/wfp197216.pdf