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Dr. Kathryn Fakier testified at the Louisiana State Senate hearing on SB14, a bill focused on food policy in schools and across the state.

The bill included banning 19 ingredients from school food service, requiring 20% of school food purchases to be produced in Louisiana, mandating that MDs, PAs and NPs complete one CEU in nutrition every four years, adding warning labels to products with one or more of 51 listed ingredients and requiring foodservice establishments to notify customers if seed oils are used in cooking.

Dr. Fakier brought her knowledge of nutritional science to the hearing, providing thoughtful insight regarding the bill’s contents. She highlighted the importance of public communication and evidence-based research in her testimony.

The professor’s decision to participate was prompted by a colleague’s outreach and desire to support informed dialogue.

She also addressed the broader context of poverty and food insecurity.

“According to the 2024 EBR Community Health Needs Assessment, while 30% of children are overweight or obese in the state of LA, 23% of children in EBR parish alone live at or below the poverty line. Malnutrition can occur at any BMI.”

Her testimony was rooted in FranU’s mission and values.

“At FranU, we are not only called to be faith-filled citizens but also to provide justice for the communities we are privileged to serve.”

In the classroom, she plans to use this experience as a teaching opportunity for her students to think critically about policy in healthcare.

“We should keep in mind that it certainly is not a one size fits all. We always should stay mission centered and critically think how these laws are impacting the most vulnerable.”

To students and future professionals, she offered this advice, “If healthcare is your profession, policy should be your passion. We should always think not only on how new policies will impact our professional lives, but also how they will impact the communities we serve.”