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ADDICTION RECOVERY Farm and food groups help recovering addicts become better parents Family Nuturing Center's farm and food groups help recovering addicts become better parents Comment By Tammy Asnicar for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tammy Asnicar for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Tammy Asnicar for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Aaran Linhart and Kristin Galabrun are eager to greet whoever drops in at the weekly Family Food Group at First Presbyterian Church in Medford. They take pleasure in showing novice chefs how to slice and dice vegetables in the kitchen and delight in the laughter of parents and children playing in the dining hall. Later, these families will sit down to enjoy dinner together — a luxury many of us take for granted, Galabrun says. Many of the moms and dads are enrolled in OnTrack’s residential treatment programs for alcohol and drug addiction. Separated from their partners, who may also be in treatment, and oftentimes their children as well, they find these family meals are few and precious. Nellie looks forward to this time. (She and other clients interviewed for this story declined to provide their last name to protect their privacy.) She and her husband, who is also in treatment, share a meal and play with their 2-year-old son. Parenting classes at OnTrack have made her a better parent, she says. But these meals are for bonding as a family. In time, they hope to be reunited with their other two sons. Husband and wife Zak and Alex drop in to sharpen their cooking skills and boost their confidence as parents of 2-year-old twins. “As struggling addicts for years, this is a blessing to be with family,” Alex says. For the first time in several months, their 7-year-old son, who is visiting from California, will join them and the twins for dinner. The Family Food Group is the hub of the Family Nurturing Center’s Farm and Food Program that Galabrun co-manages with Doug Lofdahl, who created the program. “We facilitate parent and family groups focused on nurturing healthy attachments,” Lofdahl says. To that end, he and Galabrun implement therapeutic horticulture, expressive arts, parenting education and these shared nutritious meals. Galabrun stresses the importance of nurturing parent-child relationships and takes satisfaction in witnessing the mom “who wants to provide better for her child, sometimes better than she can provide for herself at the moment.” The group meets on Tuesdays at First Presbyterian during the winter months, and out at the historic Hanley Farm near Jacksonville in the spring, summer and fall. During those months, the families work at the farm, planting, tending to and harvesting the vegetables, greens and grains they will later incorporate in the weekly menus. The group is hands-on and all-hands-in as participants learn nutrition, organic food preparation and how to maximize their grocery budget — basic skills for self-sufficiency and healthier lifestyles. Linhart says “a well-balanced, nutritional diet can stabilize the mood swings many addicts experience as they go through recovery.” Learning how to provide their families with healthy food helps parents “gain better control of their lives,” he says. “Less stress is part of getting out of the cycle” of drug and alcohol dependency. Kayla, who says she is 135 days clean and sober, appreciates the time set aside for her 18-month-old daughter. “This is a miracle program,” she says of the collaboration between OnTrack and the Farm and Food program. “You come in so broken. But, you turn your life around. You learn to forgive yourself for what you put yourself and your kids through.” “I’m learning patience,” she says. “And, I’ve learned I can multi-task … play with my daughter and cook at the same time. I have a routine now.” Linhart knows firsthand that sharing a meal binds families together, and the priceless moments he now enjoys with his young daughters have helped heal the wounds inflicted by his and their mother’s substance abuse. Less than three years ago, after a yearlong separation from his toddler daughters, he was ready to regain his role as a responsible, effective, caring father. That’s when he learned of the Family Nurturing Center’s Family Food Group and the Dads Farm Group. Like many other fathers, he found opportunity to re-build his life from the ground up. Today, Linhart is raising his two girls alone, is steadily employed, and serves as one of three peer mentors who work shoulder-to-shoulder with other parents in the kitchen at First Presbyterian or in the fields at Hanley Farm. “This is where I feel I belong,” he says. “I like giving back. I am excited to stay connected and interact with parents with backgrounds similar to my own. I give advice, but mostly I listen. I’m reminded of the struggles I had in early recovery.” Although Linhart has assumed a leadership role, he gladly accepts other participants’ contributions. “Everyone brings something else to the table,” he says. Lofdahl and Galabrun say that Linhart is one of many success stories, and the outcome Lofdahl hoped for when he created the program in fall 2011. Lofdahl’s work as a care coordinator at the Nurturing Center took him into homes where hunger presented an obstacle to families who tried to be healthy and productive. “Many of the families that we work with struggle with food insecurity,” he says. “They’re in a survival mode, but lack the traditional skill set” of putting healthy food on the table. At first, he formed a food-buying group, where Nurturing Center families would pool resources to buy large quantities of staples, such as rice, pasta, oats and flour. That evolved into a Dads Cook Group, where the fathers could learn to cook with whole foods, which then morphed into the Family Food Group. Since spring 2013, parents have been invited to Hanley Farm where they learn organic, no-till farming. Families who work there are able to take home the produce they grow, and freshly harvested produce and eggs feed the Family Food Group. A Dads Farm Group was formed in winter 2013 in collaboration with OnTrack, and after three years, that group has carved out a large parcel where they grow potatoes, beans, peas, rye, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, kale, chard, squash, corn, onions, plums and strawberries. In February 2015, the Moms Farm Group broke ground on a new three-acre farm at OnTrack's Moms Home. In the first year, they grew corn, squash, beans, peas, cucumbers and herbs. The Moms Group also worked at Hanley Farm last summer and fall constructing garden boxes, creating raised beds and erecting a greenhouse together with the Dads group. This spring and summer, work will continue to expand the new farm. “We’re hoping to add infrastructure such as an irrigation system, a greenhouse, a chicken coop and a covered area for preparing and processing food,” says Lofdahl, who adds that a crowd-funding campaign begins in March to support all the farm programs. “Our goal is to increase the amount of food we can grow and preserve to help feed both of the Moms’ and Dads’ homes, as well as provide fresh organic produce for all families who participate in the Farm and Food Program.” “We’ve been together for 10 years,” says Alex about her relationship with Zak, as she reflects on her goals for her family. “This is the first time we’re on the same page, happy with our family. The kids love (the farm) and we look forward to creating new memories out there. We’re ready to do the next right thing.” —Reach Grants Pass freelance writer Tammy Asnicar at [email protected]. By Tammy Asnicar for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tammy Asnicar for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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