ISSN 2310-4090 2015. The Authors, International Journal of Scientific Footprints This is an open access article which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, with the condition that original work is properly cited. Determinants of Food Security Status of Female-headed Households: The case of Wolaita Sodo town, South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, Ethiopia Tagese Abo 1 , Berhanu Kuma 2 1 Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction, Wolaita Sodo University, P.O.Box 138, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia 2 Department of Agricultural Economics, Wolaita Sodo University, P.O.Box 138, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia Keywords: Binary logit model; Female-headed households; Food security; Urban. Correspondence: Tagese Abo. Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction, Wolaita Sodo University, P.O.Box 138, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia Funding Information: No funding information provided . Received: March 2015; Accepted: April 2015 International Journal of Scientific Footprints 2015; 3(1): 24 - 40 Abstract Urban areas are suffering from the problem of ever increasing population and consequently inadequate food supply. This study attempts to identify determinants of food security in Wolaita Sodo town at female-headed household level. Household calorie acquisition was analyzed to measure the status of household food security. Based on the survey result of 80 female- headed households, the logistic model was estimated. Results indicate that variables related to age of household head, educational level of household head, size of the family (AE), possessing asset, number of active labor force available in the household, health status of the household head, and practicing urban agriculture were found to be statistically significant predictors of household food security in the study area. It was recommended that development interventions like effective family planning strategies and capacity building for older female household heads will immensely contribute to the attainment of food security. In general, the results of the study produce the implication that attaining food security in the urban areas of Ethiopia requires adoption of mixed strategies and policies. Introduction Improving the living standards of the poor is the major challenge of developing nations like Ethiopia. Sustaining needs increase in poverty reduction which is the only solution for the problem. Measures like assuring food security (both in terms of quantity and quality) at individual basis would highly help alleviate the problem globally as well as at the national level. Food security has become a major concern of academicians, political leaders, researchers and many other professionals of the world in general and of Ethiopia in particular. The world is home to over one billion under nourished people, over 98 % of whom live in