In 2021, 17,466 Kentuckians age 12 and older were admitted to drug and alcohol substance use centers, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to the 2023 Extension Community Assessment, Cumberland County residents identified support for substance use addiction prevention/recovery as a very high priority (4.3/5.0 scale). 

All staff in the Cumberland County Office partnered with Cumberland Co. Drug Court during May 2024 through September 2024 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 group. 

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. Sixteen Drug Court participants attended gardening and nutrition classes. The garden consisted of six types of vegetables utilizing an in-ground production system.  The produce from the garden was utilized primarily for participants to take home and enjoy. Some produce was utilized during cooking demonstrations and during the family meal night. One participant mentioned she had picked summer squash earlier in the week, took it home, and her grandma showed her how to prepare it (fried it). She stated it was delicious.  

Participants tended the garden by watering, weeding, and harvesting vegetables. In addition, some individuals took on leadership roles. For example, we had a couple specifically operate the tiller. Some liked to weed the garden area while others would harvest what was available.  These roles aided in the participants’ substance-use recovery because gardening promotes connection with other participants, fostering social inclusion and community belonging—which are essential to substance-use recovery. Fourteen participants indicated that participating in gardening and nutrition education taught them self-care strategies to improve their recovery. Furthermore, twelve of the sixteen participants intend to “seek out positive social relationships and invest more deeply in community” because of their participation in this collaborative Extension program. 

In addition to growing produce, the family and consumer science agent provided additional opportunities for people in substance use recovery to explore ways to build self-efficacy through participating in financial lessons, vision boards, and nutrition. Furthermore, several participants commented that they enjoyed gardening because they “accomplished something” and “got to hang out with my girls and have fun”.

At the end of the season, 149.1 pounds of produce were harvested, yielding 50.47 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, according to USDA calculations. This amounts to a $456.61 value in produce provided to participants. 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.