Lawrence woman Shannon Gorres, center right, and Shona Clarkson, spent the week in Lakeland, Fla., fasting with about 150 others. Gorres joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in support of the Fair Food Program, which provides wage and condition guidelines for grocery stores.

Lawrence activist Shona Clarkson was “really nervous” about participating in her first fast this week in Lakeland, Fla., in support of fair wages for field workers across the country.

Six days, only water.

But by day five, Clarkson said her body had adjusted, and she was drawing energy from the cause.

“Being here all week has just been incredible,” said Clarkson, a Kansas University graduate, who will end her fast today.

Clarkson and about 150 other supporters spent the week protesting in front of the headquarters of the national grocery chain Publix. The event, organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, is asking Publix and grocers across the country to sign onto the Fair Food Program, which outlines a variety of guidelines protecting field workers, said Lawrence resident Shannon Gorres, who’s also participating in the fast.

With support from the Lawrence community, and particularly Plymouth Congregational Church and Lawrence Fair Food, “our energy is high,” Gorres said.

Gorres and Clarkson have spent the week meeting with field workers and camping out together at a local church.

Though the action is 1,300 miles away from Lawrence, Gorres said the fight for better conditions for field workers has a local connection.

Lawrence Fair Food has been asking the Lawrence community to encourage Dillons Stores, which are owned by the larger grocery chain Kroger, to implement the guidelines from the Fair Food Program. The group has sent representatives to Dillons headquarters in Hutchinson and has picketed outside some Dillons stores.

Two national grocery chains — Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods — have so far agreed to the guidelines, Clarkson said.

Representatives from Dillons or Kroger could not be reached for comment.

For more information about the Fair Food Program and the fast, visit www.ciw-online.org.