food security projects -- Calculation of Food Consumption Score (FCS) indicator |KAJOS Consultants

The Food Consumption Score (FCS) is a composite score based on dietary diversity, food frequency, and the relative nutritional importance of different food groups. It is a proxy indicator for food intake. A questionnaire is used to ask respondents about the frequency of their households' consumption of nine food groups over the previous seven days.

To calculate the FCS, the consumption frequencies are summed and multiplied by the standardized food group weight as illustrated in the video. 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).