The substance-use epidemic touches all areas of the commonwealth, and treatment programs are using creative, research-based approaches to assist those impacted.   Extension Agent for Horticulture Education in Daviess County, Annette Heisdorffer, and Daviess County Nutrition Education Program Assistant, Catherine Dowdy, collaborated with Owensboro Regional Recovery from May to October 2023 to teach both gardening skills and nutrition education. The gardening, meal planning, and cooking skills learned will be useful to participants, both in the short term and after they leave the recovery center. 

Therapeutic horticulture is defined as a practice that uses living plants and gardening to improve people’s spiritual, mental, and physical health, according to the American Horticulture Therapy Association. Working with the Horticulture Agent, 5 recovery center residents participated in the garden weeding, watering, staking tomatoes, and harvesting vegetables as directed by the agent. Fifteen others were exposed to the garden through three garden teaching programs.  The garden consisted of green beans, summer squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, cherry and slicing tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and basil in 320 sq. Ft of raised bed gardens.  The produce from the garden was utilized in the recovery center kitchen for resident meals. 

As a result of working in the garden, the five who completed a written self-evaluation survey, reported that all of them learned how gardening can contribute to substance use recovery.    In addition, 100% reported that the Recovery Garden helped them learn strategies to take care of themselves and feel calmer that they will use in the future, and that they learned to respect others more effectively through their actions and words.  

At the end of the season, 239.5 pounds of produce were harvested, yielding over 602 one cup servings of vegetable, according to USDA calculations.  This saved the Owensboro Regional Recovery facility an estimated $418.52 in produce cost according to USDA Economic Research Service.    Medical research indicates that proper nutrition, such as increasing intake of garden fruits and vegetables, can support physical healing of damage caused by substance use and stabilize emotional states, thereby decreasing the risk of recurrence. 

Also, the participants learned about the important role of food in recovery through classes lead by the NEP Assistant. Over the July through September program, 12 were exposed to the program and 3 completed The Healthy Choices for Everybody Curriculum.