A Devex Newsmaker Event

The power of food policy: A conversation with Rep. Dwight Evans

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 - 11 a.m. ET | 5 p.m. CET

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About the Event

After steadily declining for a decade, the number of undernourished people grew by as much as 161 million worldwide between 2019-2020. Rising inequality, unjust and broken food systems, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to this trend, which, if not addressed, could result in as many as 1.4 billion food insecure people globally by 2050.

On an individual level, hunger affects everything in a person’s life — from the ability to take advantage of economic opportunities to involvement in community actions. From a broader perspective, sustainable, productive, equitable, and resilient food systems can help to stabilize vulnerable populations and contribute to national security and economic growth.

“Food policy should be one of the tools in the State Department toolbox,” U.S. Representative Dwight Evans said, “our food policy is our foreign policy.”

In this Devex Newsmaker conversation, presented by CARE, Devex Senior Reporter Teresa Welsh will speak with Rep. Dwight Evans on how Congress plays a role in setting U.S. global nutrition policy, why bipartisan support for this topic is so important, and the prospects for legislation to strengthen U.S. leadership on global nutrition issues.

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Schedule

11 a.m. ET

Opening remarks

• Teresa Welsh, Senior Reporter, Devex

11:05 a.m. ET

One-on-one interview

Speakers:
• Speaker: Rep. Dwight Evans: Congressman for the 3rd district of Pennsylvania, House of Representatives
• Moderator: Teresa Welsh, Senior Reporter, Devex

11:35 a.m. ET

Fireside chat

Speakers:
• Walter Mwasaa: Chief of Party, CARE USA
• Moderator: Teresa Welsh, Senior Reporter, Devex

11:45 a.m. ET

Closing Remarks

• Teresa Welsh, Senior Reporter, Devex

Speakers

Representative Dwight Evans

Congressman for the 3rd district of Pennsylvania, House of Representatives

Congressman Dwight Evans represents Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. He was first elected in a special election in November 2016, serving as a state representative for 36 years beforehand. He made history in 1990 by becoming the first African-American chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a position he held for two decades. In his first two years in Congress, Evans served on the House Agriculture Committee and worked on the Farm Bill, a major piece of legislation that Congress only passes every five years. He successfully challenged the Farm Bill’s proposed inclusion of work requirements, an amendment that could have denied millions of people the SNAP food assistance program, formerly known as food stamps. In 2019, Rep Evans was named to the House Ways and Means Committee that oversees important issues, including taxes, trade, Social Security and Medicare. During his time in the Pennsylvania Legislature, Evans championed the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a plan that links public and private funds to expand and build grocery stores in food deserts across our state. Creating more than 5,000 jobs in the process, the congressman brought nearly 100 grocery stores to underserved areas across the state that previously had very limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Walter Mwasaa

Chief of Party, CARE USA

Walter Mwasaa is currently serving as Chief of Party for Takunda, a USAID-funded Resilience Food Security Activity in Zimbabwe, implemented by a consortium led by CARE. Over the last 18 years, he has implemented and led humanitarian and development programs in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. In Bangladesh, he led the USAID Funded Title II Strengthening Household Ability to Respond to Development Opportunities Program (SHOUHARDO III) and concurrently became interim Country Director. Mr. Mwasaa has an interest in working with youth, fostering gender equity in the workplace, achieving transformational gender outcomes in communities and supporting the development of localized solutions to development challenges. Mr. Mwasaa has a Master of Arts in Development Studies, Post-Graduate Diploma in Food Security, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Development Studies. He is a native of Kenya.

Teresa Walsh

Senior Reporter, Devex

Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.