This dataset includes the survey data collected from mothers during the dry and rainy seasons for the Drivers of Food Choice Among Overweight Mothers and Children in Malawi study. We collected the following types of data: quantitative food frequency questionnaires for the mother and child, mother's food preferences, body size preferences, mother's and child's morbidity, socioeconomic status, distance to markets, total spending, food spending, food security, and female autonomy (decision-making). The dataset includes variables derived from the food frequency, food preferences, food security, and female autonomy questionnaires.