Every week, Monica Bardin received ten free meals in a box at her recovery house in Indianapolis. The meals, provided by the NO Limits to Recovery program, helped her focus on recovering from addiction. Bardin, 34, had struggled with addiction after being injured by a horse and prescribed pain pills. She eventually turned to heroin and meth, but sought treatment after time in prison.
NO Limits to Recovery Program
The NO Limits to Recovery program, run by Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana, sends food to people in recovery. The program tailors meals based on a participant’s medical needs and connects them to a peer coach who supports their progress. Monthly pantry boxes are also delivered. David Carpenter, a meal director at Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana, said, “Our basic needs have to be met before we can focus on changing behaviors.” Many participants struggle with food insecurity due to incarceration, homelessness, or unemployment.
Bardin learned about the program through her husband, Levi Melangton, who became a client in late 2024. Melangton, 33, relied on the meals while taking classes at Ivy Tech. “It was a huge help for me during a stressful time,” he said. The program’s name is intentional, with the ‘NO’ standing for Nate Otolski, a former outreach coordinator at Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana who came up with the idea of delivering meals to folks in recovery.
The program has served about 200 people and delivered over 16,000 frozen meals. However, funding is now a concern, and the program has gone from serving 30 people to just 15. Carpenter is applying for grants and asking the community to donate. “When people are on our waitlist for more than two weeks, a lot of them end up relapsing or leaving the recovery house,” he said.
Original reporting: Mirror Indy — read the source article.
