Definition & calculation
Numerator: Number of surveyed households whose FCS falls in the 'acceptable' threshold band
Denominator: Total number of surveyed households in the target population
Calculate each household's FCS from 7-day food-group frequency weighted by nutritional value, classify against standard thresholds (poor/borderline/acceptable), and report the share classified as acceptable.
Formula: (Numerator ÷ Denominator) × 100
Means of verification
Household food security survey (FCS module), post-distribution monitoring
Interpretation
Direction: Higher is better
Typical reporting frequency: Baseline, midline and endline (or annual)
Guidance & common pitfalls
Use context-appropriate thresholds (including the higher cut-offs where oil and sugar are commonly consumed); FCS reflects diet quantity and quality and should be triangulated with coping and dietary-diversity measures. Aligned with Food Security Cluster and IPC evidence conventions.
This library is a curated reference to adapt, aligned generically with recognised humanitarian frameworks (Sphere, cluster registries, IASC, CHS and others). It is not an official indicator registry — always use the exact indicator definitions your donor or cluster requires.
Related indicators
- % change in average crop yield among supported farming households
- % of assisted people satisfied with the food/cash assistance received
- % of assisted people who know how to provide feedback or make a complaint about the assistance
- % of target households with a high or very high share of expenditure on food