<p>Wendy Willis will lead a discussion about food and citizenship.</p>

ASTORIA The Lower Columbia Diversity Project and the North Coast Food Web invite the public to We Are What We Eat: Connecting Food and Citizenship, a free conversation with Wendy Willis, from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 13 at the Judge Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St.

Oregon is famous for its food for its long traditions in agriculture and fisheries, and also for its role in the movement to promote whole food in communities, schools and home kitchens. In addition to the daily practice of cooking and eating, many Oregonians also think, talk and write about food.

Might our relationship to food production, preparation, and consumption create deeper connections to our place and our neighbors and a pathway to increased self-sufficiency? This is the focus of We Are What We Eat: Connecting Food and Citizenship, hosted by the LCDP and the NCFW, and sponsored by Oregon Humanities.

Willis is a poet, essayist and national leader in civic engagement and collaborative governance. She serves as executive director of the Policy Consensus Initiative, a national nonprofit organization housed at Portland State University devoted to improving democratic governance. Her first book of poems, Blood Sisters of the Republic, was released in 2012.

Through the Conversation Project, Oregon Humanities offers free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our states future. For more information about this free community discussion, contact the Lower Columbia Diversity Project at lcdiversityproject@gmail.com