Community members, students, professors and activists came together April 5 to discuss the world food crisis and to plan such collective actions as forming a local food policy council, supporting sustainable gardening initiatives and writing letters to federal lawmakers.

The event, at Ithaca's First Presbyterian Church, was organized by the New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG) at Cornell, a graduate student group. The event served as a community and action-oriented follow-up to Cornell's "Visible Warnings: World Food Crisis in Perspective" conference, April 3-4.

"Professors, students, church-goers, people from nongovernment organizations and social service agencies all came together to seek a more just and sustainable food system, bringing with them perspectives that enriched the dialogue and created new opportunities for partnerships," said Megan Gregory, a NWAEG member and a graduate student in agroecology.

A panel discussion at the event focused on "Food Justice and Agricultural Sustainability Practitioners and Activists" and included a farmer and food-justice activists. Following the panel, attendees broke into small groups to discuss such a variety of topics related to food justice, sustainability and international development.

On April 7, participants gathered for dinner at Loaves and Fishes of Tompkins County, a Christian ministry that provides fellowship and free meals, where they wrote letters to lawmakers on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, extend climate change adaptation assistance and reform U.S. foreign assistance policies.