Initiated in 2012, the overarching goal of the Climate Resilience and Food Security in Central America (CREFSCA) project is to strengthen the long-term food security of vulnerable populations in Central America by improving the climate resilience of food systems at different spatial and temporal scales. [...] Food cycle – describing the relationships between key elements of the system considering cascading effects and feedback loops such as the buildup of waste products in a field and the water cycle entering and leaving the food and nutrition system. [...] Based on the definitions above, case studies and approaches published in the literature (Devereux & Maxwell, 2001; Ericksen, 2008), our methodology will start with the household as the locus of food security, but then focus the analysis sequentially upward to the community and national levels, in order to identify key elements of the food system that contribute to household food security at differ [...] The sequential application of the two analytical rings provides users with a simple tool to assess the complexity of the food system and then to move on to query the resilience of those food system elements. [...] A country-level food system analysis would use the conceptual framework to consider: the main types of foods that are consumed at the regional level; the mix of food access strategies available to vulnerable communities, if possible by region; the related availability factors, supporting resources and services for these access strategies; and the related organizations and policies.