Seasonal variation in the food consumption patterns of the people of Mutambara District of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The pattern of the consumption of various food items in rural households would be expected to change with the seasons as the availability of various types of food changes. To obtain meaningful information on the pattern of food consumption of a given community, it is essential to conduct surveys during the different seasons of the year. The objective of this study was to determine the food items consumed by the people in Mutambara during the course of the year. To do this, surveys were conducted during the periods of January, May and August, 1988. These periods correspond approximately to the hot, wet beginning of the cold, dry and the beginning of the hot, dry periods respectively. In an earlier report1 the types of foods consumed during the December/January period of 1988 were reported.