Brighton Recovery Center is a residential recovery program for women. According to Brighton Recovery Center for Women Outcome Study 2019 Fact Sheet, 43% of BRC residents came into the program experiencing homelessness and 33% were having trouble meeting basic living needs. It stands to reason that under those circumstances, nutrition is not a top priority in the residents’ lives. After months of detoxification and what the program refers to as “creating a safe, respectful, predictable living environment”, the women are taught life skills. One of the options is Healthy Choices for Every Body with the Boone County Cooperative Extension Service. During the 7-part series, participants are taught basic cooking terms and skills. They focus on food safety practices, shifting to healthier choices, and reading food labels.

While living at the center, residents eat meals together and rotate helping to prepare those meals in the kitchen. During nutrition discussions, the women frequently had a negative opinion of the meal quality at the center. It was a great opportunity to talk about making small changes to improve health.  Many of them did not know the importance of getting enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. They appreciated the lesson about reading food labels and became very animated with questions. A few women reported that they had gained as many as 50 pounds while residing at the center due to the abundant availability of food for the first time in many years. Instead of focusing on what food options were not available to them, they compared what was available and what combinations and serving sizes best fit into a healthy eating plan.

Using data collected using a national reporting series, 92% of those who completed to program reported a positive change in the consumption of one or more food groups as recommended by the USDA. In addition to going home to create safe, respectful, predictable living environments, women graduating from BRC  will improve their long-term health through nutrition and will also assist the 58 family members they will be reunited with at the end of their journey toward wellness.