As part of an intervention to improve iron status and reduce anemia among adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in a low income peri-urban area of Peru, anthropological data were collected on women's knowledge and perceptions of their bodies, their reproductive tract, relationships of diet to health and anemia, and on alternative strategies for changing their diet in ways to improve their iron status. Baseline dietary and iron status data were also collected as part of the assessment. This information was provided to small groups of women to elicit their participation in planning an intervention that will be implemented through community kitchens. Data are presented from this formative, pre-intervention phase of the project, and provide a methodology for undertaking community-based, participatory dietary interventions to imorove micronutrient status.