Gender is the most important but overlooked aspect of food security analysis. Informed by experiential narrative resilience framework, this paper thus discusses the gender dimensions of food security based on the accounts of Ittu Oromo agro-pastoralists. Ethnographic data were collected through participant observation, focus group discussion and narrative interview, and analyzed thematically. Accordingly, four major themes have emerged: women vis-à-vis food among Ittu Oromo, gender division of labour, consumption decision making, and mutual support (quubii) as food security strategy. The finding thus indicated that women are an important actor in food preservation, preparation and allocation in agro-pastoralists of Ittu Oromo. In division of labour, women are largely engaged in such domestic works as caring and cooking while men engage in farm and other non-domestic activities though there are changes today. Consumption decision-making appears to be collective though men tend to dominate. In household food allocation, women seem powerful though they tend to eat least and last but given precedence – during pregnancy and post-partum period. In the context of dearth, women proved innovative that they put heads together to support each other through such village-based institutions as quubii. Among the agro-pastoralists of Ittu Oromo, quubii plays a pivotal role in building women capacity to deal with food shortage. Women, however, remained to be vulnerable particularly when they are head of the family that culturally sound resilience building intervention such as increased access to resource, enhanced participation in decision making, and strengthening mutual support and cooperation (such as quubii) appears crucial.