Thank you, ADAMH, for your support of Cooking Matters

Originally published: March 2017

Local Matters, through the generosity of the Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Board (ADAMH), is excited to partner with Southeast’s Medication Assisted Treatment program to offer Cooking Matters services to clients dealing with opiate addiction. The classes focus on teaching the participants about healthful food, nutrition, and wellness. Nutritional health is often not addressed in recovery programs; Local Matters and Southeast, Inc. are partnering to help change that with the support of ADAMH.

Located in downtown Columbus, Southeast is a provider of multiple healthcare services, including the treatment of chemical dependency. Southeast uses both medication and counseling, providing wrap-around services to support the client’s medical, physical and emotional needs. This, coupled with nine hours of sober support activities, helps to promote a drug-free lifestyle for their participants.

Those dealing with addictive illnesses often have trouble finding the means to access healthful foods. This is an area in which both Southeast and Local Matters hope to intervene. In addition to eating balanced meals, it is also important for patients to eat healthy snacks throughout the day, which help stabilize mood and prevent relapse. The necessity for healthful foods is one reason the Cooking Matters classes focuses on a Facilitated Dialogue approach to teaching. This approach allows participants to decide what works best for them and their needs. The adaptability in structuring classes for Southeast clients is crucial to teaching them about the importance of healthful foods, also to keeping them on track to recovery.

Local Matters would, again, like to extend our sincere gratitude to Southeast for their partnership and to ADAMH, for their generous support of this pilot project.