Nationwide Food Consumption Survey (NFCS), 1987-88
The nutritional well being of the Nation is important to consumers, educators, health professionals, program policy planners, food manufacturers, and farmers. One mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is to determine the amount, cost, and nutritive value of foods used by households, as well as the food and nutrient intakes by individual household members.
The 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey is the seventh large-scale food consumption survey conducted by USDA. Other large-scale surveys were conducted in 1936-37, 1942, 1948, 1955, 1965-66, and 1977-78.
The NFCS 1987-88 included two components:
- Household food use. In the household component, respondents were asked to provide information on food used by the household for a 1-week period and on the cost of that food. NFCS 1987-88 differed in methodology from NFCS 1977-78 in that the household phase of the interview was conducted with the use of a laptop computer.
- Individual intake. Household members were asked to provide 3 days of information on their food intake. All individuals in participating households were asked to recall the food eaten during the day preceding the interview and then to keep a diary of food eaten for the day of and day after the interview.