Charlotte restaurant brings food therapy to residents recovering from substance use

CHARLOTTE — A unique partnership between a substance use disorder facility and a restaurant in Charlotte displays how food is fueling the recovery journey for more than 100 people in the community.

Seven days a week, Chef Sam Diminich and his team at Your Farms Your Table provide all three meals to clients at McLeod Center for Wellbeing.  They have a contract with the facility.

While it may not be what comes to mind as therapy at a substance use disorder facility, Diminich, and McLeod Center residential tech Joe Kendrick says that’s exactly what it is.

“Some of the clients in residency when they come in, they haven’t had meals in I don’t know how long,” he said. “Something balanced, something good, you know? They get what they can get because their food right now is that alcohol or that drug. So when they come in here, they finally get it.”

“If you ever sat down, you had a lot of your mind. And you had a great bowl of pasta or steak, you know, which is the essence of YFYT, it’s therapy,” said Diminich, “This is an integral part of our, I think, our human existence.”

Both Diminich and Kendrick were very open about their own substance use struggles. They’re both alive to talk about it and pay it forward in the way they know how.

>>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis speaks with both men to learn how sustenance can aid in substance use treatment.

(WATCH: Nonprofit brings affordable, healthy food to York County)

Nonprofit brings affordable, healthy food to York County

©2023 Cox Media Group