INDIANAPOLIS — On a Friday morning in downtown Indianapolis, Cameron Grady and David Carpenter are loading up boxes of food and hitting the road to make deliveries for Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana. But these deliveries are unlike any they’ve made before.
“It has been a long journey to get to this point, but a great journey,” said Carpenter.
Minutes later, they reached their destination.
“Hello, ladies, how are you doing?” said Carpenter as they climbed the steps to a front porch in an east side neighborhood. “Kudos on your journey in recovery."
The men and women receiving these meals are in recovery. They’ve just left a substance abuse treatment facility and are transitioning back to life on their own. Carpenter says in the first 90 days, nutritious food and healthy eating habits are critical but often overlooked.
“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say it’s like a 20,” he said. “Often what happens is they'll trade one addiction for another, be that foods that are high in sugar and fat or something. So what if we were able to stop that from happening? What if we could make an impact — feed them the right kinds of food make sure they're getting fed? Makes all the difference in the world helps them focus on recovery."
The pilot program is called NO Limits to Recovery. The ‘N’ and ‘O’ hold special meaning.
"In March of 2022, we lost a good friend of mine and a wonderful coworker. His name was Nathan Otolsky,” said Carpenter, who explained Otolsky had wanted to serve people in recovery because he knew their struggle well. Sadly, Otolsky died unexpectedly before he could see his dream become a reality.
“Unfortunately, it was an overdose and it took us all by surprise,” said Carpenter.
But exactly two years later, the Meals on Wheels team is keeping Otolsky’s legacy alive through the program named after him. The organization partnered with the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation to provide medically-tailored meals for up to 50 people this year. They will also receive support from a peer recovery coach. And that’s where Cameron Grady comes in. He, too, has been there.
"These people are at rock bottom,” said Grady. “They're trying to get clean, trying to get help. They see someone who's out there that looks like them, talks like them, who's been there and come out the other side."
Participants in the program receive:
- 10 medically tailored meals, once a week, for 90 days
- A medically tailored pantry box, once a month, for 90 days
- After 60 days on the program, clients are offered an opportunity to attend a Cooking Matters class, where they learn to cook with healthy, affordable ingredients.
With each delivery, the team knows Nathan is not far away.
"When an individual gets a meal and they open it up, that's the memory of Nate right there,” said Carpenter. “That's the work he did."
Click here to learn more about the program, how to sign up, or how to support them.