Food insecurity remains a persistent developmental challenge across rural communities in Ethiopia, with the Amhara Region continuously ranking as one of the country's most vulnerable areas. The objective of this study was to analyze the food security status, determinants and coping strategies in the context of Meket Woreda, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed research design, pairing quantitative household surveys with qualitative focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). Primary data were gathered from a randomly sampled cross-section of 286 rural household heads distributed across three distinct agro-ecological zones: Dega (highland), Woigna dega (midland) and Kolla (lowland). Household food security status was computed quantitatively via the World Food Programme’s (WFP) standardized Food Consumption Score (FCS). Determinants of household food security were modeled using an multiple linear regression analysis, while the coping strategies were analyzed using the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI). The results revealed a high food insecurity with a striking 87% of surveyed households falling into either the “poor" or "borderline" food consumption categories. The overall sample mean FCS was 24.2, denoting widespread insecure dietary access. Notably, both a one-way ANOVA (F = 1.8518, p = 0.1588) and the final multiple linear regression model proved that agro-ecological placement was statistically non-significant, reflecting a "homogenization of vulnerability" where erratic macro-shocks overwhelm traditional elevation-based privileges. Econometric model results demonstrated that household size (ꞵ= 1.2469, p = 0.005) and distance to market centers (ꞵ= 0.0804, p = 0.023) exerted a highly significant positive relationship on household food consumption scores, validating the labor endowment hypothesis and localized market dependency dynamics. Conversely, being married (ꞵ= -4.5471, p = 0.042) negative impacted food security, highlighting vulnerabilities tied to high child-dependency burdens. To manage these problems, local smallholders deployed severe quantitative rationing mechanisms, with 52.4% forced into maternal/adult fasting and 50.3% utilizing portion restrictions to shield younger children. Furthermore, 39.5% of respondents identified plant pests and animal diseases as their most critical information deficit within local early warning systems. The study concludes that rural household food insecurity in Meket Woreda is structurally high across all ecological zones. Interventions must heavily on building institutional support. It is recommended that local government and development practitioners design tailored, shockresponsive social safety nets, expand off-farm livelihood diversification options to relieve nuclear household burdens, and strengthen early warning communication channels specifically covering transboundary crop pests and climate-driven livestock diseases.