Making healthy food choices and following sound dietary practices as part of the recovery process is an essential component of addictions treatment. The University of Massachusetts Extension Nutrition Education Program has been providing nutrition education to the Steppingstone women's treatment programs for over five years. Nutrition educators meet with women in the program each week to offer information about how to identify and prepare foods high in the kinds of nutrients that will help the recovery process. This program is one example of the numerous sessions offered by the Extension Service free of charge throughout the year. The public served through NEP programming includes limited-resource families with children; pregnant and/or parenting teens; youth and elderly. In addition it also serves professionals in community agencies and food handlers in settings such as food pantries, homeless shelters, senior meal sites, community-based group homes, and school food service units.  For more information about the program, contact Pat Bebo at 508-675-7315.
 

(Top row) Nutrition Educator Louan Tavares from the U-Mass Extension Service presents information on whole grains to a group of women who meet each week in the Steppingstone program. (Bottom row) Nutrition Educator Ruth Desmarais looks on while participants respond to questions posed by Louan about choices that participant plan to make to improve their nutrition.