In 2014,20 million Americans had substance abuse disorder.  The National Association of Recovery Residences list Life Skills as a step to recovery. Life skill development and the knowledge of community resources shields families from food insecurity.  Food security is also associated with food resource management skills such as managing bills and stretching your food dollar.  The Nutrition Education Program  Assistant with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service taught the Healthy Choices for Everybody curriculum to limited resource families at 3 different recovery programs in Oldham County.  The series of 7 lessons taught participants to create healthy meals on a budget, proper food safety practices, and better food resource management.  At the conclusion of each class, a cooking demonstration was conducted, along with food sampling.

In the 2018/19 program year, 60 recovery center participants graduated from the program.  The graduates demonstrated an overall 86% improvement in their food resource management skills, with 93% showing an improvement in planning meals before shopping, 89% improved their grocery shopping by making a list, and 93% improved the practice by checking their pantries before shopping.  Additionally, a total of 95% of the graduates showed a positive change in any one food group.    

The participants stated that they would utilize practices to make healthier choices for their families.