Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Monitoring Framework
Draft version, July 2018

The views expressed in this product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.

Indicator 18: Percentage of food insecure households based on theFood Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
MUFPP framework of actions’ category: Social and economic equity
The indicators measures severity of food insecurity experience based on the Food Insecurity Experience
Scale (FIES). This is an indicator of food access, not diet quality.

Overview table
MUFFP Work stream
MUFFP actionWhat the indicatormeasures
Which variables need tobe measured / what
data are needed
Unit of measurement(i.e. Percentages,averages, number ofpeople, etc.)
Unit(s) of Analysis(i.e people under 5 years
old, etc.)
Possible sources of
information of suchdata
Possible methods/tools
for data-collection
Expertise required
Resources required/estimated costs

Social and economic equity
Use cash and food transfers, and other forms of social protection systems toprovide vulnerable populations with access to healthy food. This is as a meansof increasing the level of food security for specific vulnerable groups.
Severity of food insecurity experience based on the Food Insecurity Experience
Scale (FIES). This is an indicator of food access, not diet quality.
The data are collected using the FIES Survey module, composed of 8 yes/noquestions asked to an adult respondent. The choice of additional variables tocollect in the survey will depend on the objective of the survey, but should
include at a minimum basic demographic information.
Percentage people or households experiencing moderate or severe foodinsecurity.

Households or individuals

The FIES survey module can be included in many types of surveys, such as healthand nutrition surveys and household income and expenditure surveys.
The FIES survey module (individual or household version)
Survey methodology and statistical analysis
Human and financial resources to include an 8-item survey module in a
population survey, collect data in the field and conduct data analysis.

1Specific observations

Examples of application

The FIES data has been collected by FAO in over 145 countries since 2014 in theGallup World Poll. The global data reveal that the FIES results show significant
and high correlations in the expected direction with most accepted indicators ofdevelopment, including child mortality, stunting, poverty measures and the Gini
index.
The FIES can be used to estimate the prevalence of moderate or severe foodinsecurity at the municipal level when the FIES survey module is included in asurvey that is representative of the municipal population. It depends on thesample design.
National survey data in Brazil in 2004, based on the Brazilian Food Insecurity
Scale (a predecessor of the FIES), found significant differences in household foodinsecurity levels among the five geographical regions of the country1. Evidenceof these stark regional inequalities convinced the Brazilian government to direct
resources and public policies toward the more vulnerable regions. Many otherexamples can be found in Lesson 5 of the FAO e-learning course: SDG Indicator
2.1.2 – Using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. Available at:

http://www.fao.org/elearning/#/elc/en/course/SDG212.

Rationale/evidence
Access to enough nutritionally adequate food was declared a basic human right at the World Food
Summit in Rome in 1996.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has undertaken a project called Voices ofthe Hungry (VoH) to develop and support a survey-based experiential measure of access to food, called
the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). It is an experience-based metric of severity of foodinsecurity that relies on people’s direct responses to a series of questions regarding their access toadequate food.
A growing number of national governments are adopting the FIES. Its ease of application makes it
accessible to people at many levels and from diverse fields, although data analysis requires a solid
statistical background. Local governments, non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups canalso appropriate this relatively simple instrument to monitor food insecurity locally or regionally,
engaging diverse stakeholders in the process, and building bridges between people of different
backgrounds. This may in fact be where their greatest potential lies to effect change and contribute toguaranteeing the human right to adequate food.

Glossary/concepts/definitions used
Food Security is said to exist when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic accessto sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active
and healthy life.

Preparations
Producing this indicator requires data collection in the field from a representative sample of thepopulation. This implies preparation of the survey questionnaire (print or CAPI), a sampling framework,training of enumerators to collect the data, data collection and analysis.

1

Brasil/IBGE (2006). Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios-2004, Suplemento de Segurança
Alimentar; Rio de Janeiro. Available fromhttp://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/monografias/GEBIS%20%20RJ/segalimentar/suguranca_alimentar2004.pdf.
2SamplingThe sample design must guarantee representativeness of the sub-populations of interest (e.g. thosethat are vulnerable to food insecurity, or specific geographic areas of the city).

Data Collection and Analysis
Data collection: 8 question survey module with dichotomous (yes/no) responses
Data analysis: Thresholds can be set on the raw score to classify the food security severity status ofrespondents, but Rasch analyses and probabilistic assignment are recommended (as described in thee-learning course cited below).
For detailed guides for applying the FIES survey module and analysing the data, see:
the FAO e-learning course: SDG Indicator 2.1.2 – Using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES).
Available at: http://www.fao.org/elearning/#/elc/en/course/SDG212.
Additional important resources can be found at the Voices of the Hungry webpage at:
http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-the-hungry/en/#.WoxNck2ovcs. See in particular “Using theFIES”: http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-the-hungry/using-fies/en/, where translations of theFIES survey module can be found in 170 languages).
The Food Insecurity Experience Scale: Measuring food insecurity through people’s experiences.
Available at http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7835e.pdf.
The FIES Survey Module
The FIES-SM questions refer to the experiences of the individual respondent or of the respondent’s
household as a whole. The questions focus on self-reported food-related behaviours and experiences
associated with increasing difficulties in accessing food due to resource constraints.
During the last 12 months, was there a time when, because of lack of money or other resources:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

You were worried you would not have enough food to eat?
You were unable to eat healthy and nutritious food?
You ate only a few kinds of foods?
You had to skip a meal?
You ate less than you thought you should?
Your household ran out of food?
You were hungry but did not eat?
You went without eating for a whole day?

The set of eight questions compose a scale that covers a range of severity of food insecurity:

No single tool can account for the many dimensions of food and nutrition security. The FIES
complements the existing set of food and nutrition security indicators. Used in combination with othermeasures, the FIES has the potential to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of thecauses and consequences of food insecurity and to inform more effective policies and interventions.
Because the FIES is easy for professionals and institutions from any sector to use, its inclusion in diverse3

types of surveys can help strengthen links between different sectorial perspectives, for example,
between agriculture, social protection, health and nutrition.
Results from surveys that include the FIES can also be used to inform decisions regarding priorities fortargeting programmes and resources. While it is not appropriate to use the FIES to identify individual
beneficiaries for programmes, the information provided by population surveys that include the FIES
can serve to identify vulnerable sub-populations or geographic areas that are more affected by foodinsecurity2.

References and links to reports/tools
Ballard, T.J., Kepple, A.W. & Cafiero, C. 2013. The food insecurity experience scale: development of a
global standard for monitoring hunger worldwide. Technical Paper. Rome, FAO. Available fromhttp://www.fao.org/economic/ess/ess-fs/voices/en/.
Cafiero, C., Viviani, S., & Nord, M. (2018). Food security measurement in a global context: The foodinsecurity experience scale. Measurement, 116, 146-152.
FAO (2016). Methods for estimating comparable prevalence rates of food insecurity experienced byadults throughout the world. Rome, FAO. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4830e.pdf
FAO (2017). The Food Insecurity Experience Scale: Measuring food insecurity through people’s
experiences. Available from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7835e.pdf.
FAO (2018) FAO e-learning course: SDG Indicator 2.1.2 – Using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale(FIES). Available at: http://www.fao.org/elearning/#/elc/en/course/SDG212
Voices of the Hungry webpage: http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-thehungry/en/#.WoxNck2ovcs

2FAO (2017). The Food Insecurity Experience Scale. Available from http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-thehungry/fies/en/.

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