LSUS Olympian launching healthy youth initiative in conjunction with Winter Games

LSUS Olympian launching healthy youth initiative in conjunction with Winter Games

SHREVEPORT - Three-time U.S. Olympian Kendrick Farris is launching a statewide school-based initiative to advance youth wellness and expand access to plant-forward nutrition.

The FEED initiative, which stands for Fueling Every Eater's Development, is designed to support the roll out of the Healthy Kids Act across Louisiana in conjunction with the 2026 Winter Olympics (this February) and beyond.

Farris, an LSU Shreveport graduate who got his weightlifting start at the on-campus USA Weightlifting Development Center, will visit schools and deliver interactive assemblies focused on active lifestyles and plant-forward nutrition.

"I believe this initiative promoting movement, nutrition literacy and plant-forward eating to underserved youth can uplift students, schools, and families while making Shreveport a model for health equity," Farris said. "As a three-time Olympian, husband, and father of four, I have seen firsthand how access to food, movement, and education shapes long-term outcomes."

The Healthy Kids Act legislation includes guidelines to improve school lunch nutrition by removing ultra-processed foods and foods with certain dyes and additives.

Farris is partnering with the Louisiana Department of Education along with other entities like the locally-based Heartwork Institute in this initiative.

Farris, whose diet has been fully plant-based for more than a decade, advocates for more access to and education about plant-rich meals.

"I help young people understand how to fuel their bodies with accessible foods like lentils, beans, hummus, fruits, vegetables and other plant-rich meals that support both performance and long-term health," Farris said. "I changed my diet after my second Olympics (2012 London Olympics).

"I discovered my Hebrew ancestry, and I aligned my lifestyle more intentionally toward holistic performance - spiritually and physically. That shift transformed how I trained, recovered, and ultimately how I now coach and mentor youth."

In addition to nutrition, Farris intends to enhance after school and summer programming and conduct fitness activities to include community workouts, plant-based taste testing, and local athlete engagement.

The Shreveport native is the only American male to break two U.S. records in two different weight classes en route to three top-11 Olympic finishes in his weight class. He also captured two Pan American championships.

Farris is educating youth at a Rockford, Ill., weightlifting meet this weekend and is active locally and nationally in the youth health and education space.