Substance abuse generally leads to a lack of improper nutrition. Dr. Barbara Stitt, PhD and PO stated, “individuals who suffer from substance abuse often, skip breakfast, eat foods high in sugar, consume high amounts of processed foods, and have little to no consumption of fruits and vegetables.” Kentucky is ranked 21 out of 50 states for drug related deaths. Because of this the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, urges nutrition professionals to take aggressive action to ensure involvement in treatment and recovery programs.

 The Nutrition Education Program, SNAP Education Assistant teamed up with a local Men’s Recovery Center to teach a series of nutrition lessons. The lessons focused on, food safety, MyPlate balanced diet, understanding food labels, importance of breakfast and other lessons.  

One hundred percent of participants showed improvement in their overall diet quality and 58% showed improvement in increased physical activity. Fifty percent of the participants showed increase consumption of fruits and 58% showed increase in vegetables. Ninety two percent showed improvement in making a grocery list, checking prices of food and meal planning. Furthermore, 92%  of participants showed improvement  food safety practices like hand washing.