BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Ertharin Cousin delivered a distinguished lecture, as a part of the Endowed Lecture Series, at Bridgewater College on Wed, March 26, at 7:30 p.m., in Cole Hall.
Cousin is a prominent leader in global food security and humanitarian work. She served as the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) from 2012 to 2017, where she led major humanitarian efforts, including responding to crises in Syria, the Horn of
Africa and the Ebola outbreak. She advocated for nutrition-sensitive programs and promoted the Zero Hunger Challenge.
Prior to her WFP role, she was the US Ambassador to UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture and held leadership positions at Land O’Lakes, Inc. Cousin’s work focuses on sustainable development, public-private partnership and addressing food insecurity through long-term solutions.
A focus of Cousin’s lecture was on the aspect of food insecurity. This is a big issue, especially on college campuses, and at Bridgewater College. For students at Bridgewater, as they do have access to the dining hall, they are still, in certain instances, challenged to maintain quality nutrition.
Junior baseball player Drew Cheatham was at the lecture and had some insight on this topic.
“Being an athlete makes it tricky,” Cheatham said. “Nutrition is a big part of my performance, but balancing practice, workouts and classes leaves me with very little time to focus on meals. The dining hall doesn’t always have what I need, and by the time I get there, the options are usually pretty limited. I can’t always rely on the dining hall to fuel me the way I need, especially on days when I have back-to-back practices or early morning sessions.”
Cheatham mentioned he often skips meals or grabs something quick because of his unpredictable schedule. Cheatham claims he tried meal prepping, but that’s tough to keep up with. Overall, he feels a lot of pressure to eat well and get enough energy to perform his best.
Sophomore business major Ashton Smith also attended the lecture and reflected on how Cousin’s message resonated with him and his peers.
“Sometimes people assume that if you’re in college, you must be doing fine but that’s not always true,” Smith said. “I’ve had weeks where I’ve had to choose between buying textbooks or groceries. Hearing Cousin talk about food insecurity made me feel seen, and it reminded me that this is a bigger issue than most people realize.”
Ertharin Cousin’s lecture served as an eye-opener to the global impact of food insecurity as well as the effect it can have on local communities. Cousin was adamant about focusing on long-term solutions. For the communities in crisis, of course, but also those that experience hidden hunger as well.
Collective efforts from individuals, institutions, and governments were emphasized during Cousin’s lecture to encourage sustainable programs and partnerships. Cousin spoke with excitement as she is motivated to spread awareness on sustainable food practices.
