The FSC Coordinator should be actively involved in discussions on the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB).
MEB Definition: The MEB is defined as what a HH requires in order to meet its essential needs, on a regular or seasonal basis, and its cost. It is an operational tool to identify and quantify the ‘monetary threshold’ and the cost of these goods, utilities, services, and resources – and is conceptually equivalent to a poverty line. It typically describes the cost of meeting one month’s worth of essential needs.
Note: Some countries also use a survival MEB (SMEB). The SMEB is the absolute minimum amount required to maintain existence and cover lifesaving needs – see details p. 39 in WFP’s Guidance Note, here.
Inter-Agency Coordination: MEBs are often constructed in an interagency context, in the Cash Working Group (see 4.3.4) or other interagency coordination forum, which helps facilitate dialogue and validation from the beginning of the process. Here, each cluster will commonly contribute to the needs in their respective sectors. The FSC Coordinator can coordinate with FSC colleagues (including WFP) and the Nutrition cluster on defining the cost of food component of the MEB, plus any additional seasonal top-ups that might be required for the one-off purchase of essential agricultural inputs. The cost of cooking fuel (crucial for food assistance) can be also added, even though it is under the Shelter- NFI Sector (e.g. in Nigeria, the FSC Nigeria added a top up for the MPC grant).
For minimum standards for the inclusion of the food when building the MEB, see Minimum Expenditure Baskets: Guidance Note (WFP, 2020). See also the Calculating the Minimum Expenditure Basket - a Guide to Best Practice (CaLP, 2022) and Examples and good practices on the use of multi-purpose cash in the food security sector (gFSC, 2020; pp. 4-7)
Where possible, the MEB should be defined prior to an emergency as cash preparedness. It informs the average transfer amount for MPC and can be used to inform the transfer (CVA) value for food by using the cost of the MEB food component (5.6.1). A collectively agreed MEB helps to understand potential needs and facilitate agreement on what could be covered through humanitarian assistance. It can help to define what should be monitored ahead of time to set up appropriate systems.