The food consumption habits of 145 Iowa farm families were studied from records of expenditures for food and of food produced by farms during one year. Forty-three families in the central part of the state near Ames, 49 families in the southwestern part near Corning, and 53 families near Oelwein in the northeastern part of the state cooperated in the study.

The nutritive values of the respective diets were calculated for the families in the Ames group and for the average of the families in each of the other two groups.

The energy values of these diets and their content of protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron were calculated and contrasted with the "standard allowances” on a per man per day basis.