This report seeks to support national decisionmakers, as well as their international development partners, in acquiring information and applying methods for understanding the likely effects of a global food crisis on their country and acting to alleviate the risks and exploit the opportunities brought about by such crises. It describes data and methods and suggests how to facilitate their collection and use. The report then outlines the design and implementation of an open Internet-based portal for sharing reliable, appropriate information and decision-support tools for national policymakers so they can respond quickly to changes in world food markets in an informed manner.