Indicators to measure income and food deprivation are useful for understanding food insecurity at national level and within countries. This paper discusses two indicators: prevalence of food deprivation (undernourishment), and prevalence of critical food poverty. Both indicators are based on nutritional underlying criteria, which are also derived from food consumption and income data collected in household surveys. Prevalence of food deprivation is Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicator number 5, which uses the distribution of energy consumption as a base; prevalence of critical food poverty is a new indicator that links food deprivation to income deprivation, based on the distribution of income. The link is the concept of minimum dietary energy requirement (MDER) used in the FAO methodology as the cut-off value in the distribution of energy consumption for estimating undernourishment. The critical food poverty line for estimating the prevalence of critical food poverty is the cost of the MDER, based on energy-yielding nutrient prices for a macronutrient-balanced diet accessible to low-income population groups. The macronutrient-balanced diet uses the recommendations of a Joint WHO/ FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases (2002, Geneva) as its point of reference. The following examples illustrate the results of both indicators for a sample of countries in different continents.