Good luck with your continuing search!

Someone is paying for his stay at the home – him, his family, the state – and those paying have the right to encourage healthy food options. If cost is an issue, the home might see if they qualify for CACFP (http://www.doe.mass.edu/cnp/nprograms/cacfp.html). Even though this program focuses primarily on K-12, it does assist qualifying adult programs. Your patron may also qualify for individual assistance.

Lynn (who has a relative in a group home in the U.S.)

I don’t know if he has access to free weights, but if so, there is a great book called The College Dorm Workout – the authors are Joyce Vedral and her daughter Marthe – and it’s a workout and eating program designed for people living in dorms (limited space, college eating plans, etc). Since this gentleman is in his twenties and in a group home with a set eating plan, this could really help him – the food sections help you make good choices from what’s available to you, and the workout section is designed for those with limited space and just a chair.

If he doesn’t have free weights and can’t afford them (lots of times you can get them second hand for about a dollar each), he can use things that have the same weight, like two soup cans or two bottles of water, to get started. I did this in my freshman dorm and lost 20 lbs, and the exercises were challenging but the eating plan was pretty easy. Plus, he can do the exercises while someone else is there watching TV or reading or something to make sure he doesn’t have a seizure on his own. You never know – he might even find someone who would like to do the exercises with him.

The book is in your catalog but it doesn’t look like you have any holdings and I think it’s out of print; if so, you can see if you have any of Ms. Vedral’s books on hand, as they’re all pretty much the same. However, if you can wrangle that dorm one, I think it would be an excellent match for his set of circumstances. Good luck.