Food Security Measurement
Food security measurement comprises a family of survey-based instruments that capture households' or individuals' access to adequate food, distinct from the U.S. USDA Household Food Security Survey Module. The dominant tools — the FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), the World Food Programme's Food Consumption Score (FCS), and dietary-diversity scores such as the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) — measure either the lived experience of food insecurity or the quantity and quality of the diet, providing the indicators used for global hunger monitoring and humanitarian targeting.
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Sources
- Ballard, T. J., Kepple, A. W., & Cafiero, C. (2013). The Food Insecurity Experience Scale: Development of a Global Standard for Monitoring Hunger Worldwide. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). link ↗
- Coates, J., Swindale, A., & Bilinsky, P. (2007). Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for Measurement of Food Access: Indicator Guide (Version 3). Washington, DC: FANTA / Academy for Educational Development. link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Experiential and Dietary Food Security Measurement (FIES / HFIAS / FCS). ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/development-studies/food-security-measurement
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