The development of national food security information systems is constrained by a
lack of guidance on which indicators to use. This paper compares food security
indicators across two seasons (summer and winter) in one of the most deprived areas of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The results show that only
anthropometric indicators are sensitive enough to differentiate levels of food
insecurity. The lack of consistent classification across indicators means that surveys
must use a combination of food consumption and experience of hunger measures
backed up by anthropometric measures. Targeting interventions is difficult if the
measures cannot be relied on. Further investigation is needed to identify a suite of
appropriate indicators for a national information and surveillance system.
