This paper describes food consumption and rural poverty in Romania at the beginning of the transition using household budget survey data. The paper indicates that poverty in general has increased as a result of the collapse in real incomes, with income gaps increasing between the poor and the rich, and a decrease in social transfers. The share of food in total consumption is high but remains at about the same level (52 per-cent in 1988 and 53 per-cent in 1992). Rural poverty is extensive and subsistence production for in-household consumption widespread. About 55 per-cent of total monthly expenditure of rural households represents the value of consumption from own resources. The average daily food consumption of rural households is about 2,500 calories.