According to a 2017 report in the Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 13% of the U.S. population has some form of disability.  The report further states that adults with disabilities, especially mental health disabilities, are at a higher risk for food insecurity.  These individuals may therefore experience difficulties meeting their basic food needs due to a lack of resources.

ImpactLex is an organization in Lexington, Kentucky that assists individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  The Fayette County Nutrition Education Program (NEP) Assistant provides weekly nutrition classes throughout the year for ImpactLex clients and their assistants.  Since these participants are working toward being more self-sufficient and advocate for themselves, it is hoped that our nutrition classes will better enable these individuals to cook dinner at home, compare food prices, plan meals and make shopping lists.

According to the survey conducted when participants graduated from our NEP class, 100% of the participants showed improvement in one or more food resource management practices.  The clients have stated that they enjoy cooking at home more and believe that they make better use of their food dollars after graduating from our nutrition class.