Former Westport Resident Creates Nutrition, Exercise Nonprofit

NEAD USA: A relationship that ended partly due to an individual's drinking and a family member's premature death aided by poor eating habits and prescription drugs pushed Craig Gordon to search for answers.

What the former longtime Westport resident found during his research was a correlation between alcohol, sugar, lack of exercise, behavioral issues and disease. “I became keenly aware of how alcohol and malnutrition affect behavior,” said Gordon, 62, a tobacco, alcohol and marijuana user when younger.

As he began connecting the dots, Gordon founded the nonprofit NEAD Inc. in 1987 to educate the public about the importance of eating properly, exercising regularly and avoiding tobacco, alcohol, opiates and other dangerous substances.

That same year, he helped produce a detailed schematic on the topic, “Causative Factors in the Evolution of Chemical Dependency,” for the White House's Drug Abuse Policy Office.
NEAD – which stands for Nutrition and Exercise vs. Addiction and Disease – has positively impacted many thousands of lives through its services and programs.

Gordon has given presentations at conferences, trade shows, public schools, colleges and DUI classes, and worked with businesses, social service agencies and nonprofit organizations.
NEAD responds to inquiries, arranges one-on-one discussions with people seeking guidance, maintains a website (www.neadusa.org), publishes educational articles, and distributes public service banners. “Junk Food & Sugar are the Gateway Drugs,” reads one of its more than 400 copyrighted banner slogans.

NEAD stresses that poor nutrition can lead not just to addiction and chronic health problems, but also mental health issues and criminal recidivism. "The healthier we get people, the more mental capacity they have for better behavior and learning," Gordon said.
The organization assists both adults and children, such as through age-appropriate, graphics-filled workbooks on eating habits and physical activity.

NEAD often works with people in recovery, individuals released from prison and youth at risk. The organization's efforts have made a difference at halfway houses, parole offices and juvenile detention centers. “There are a number of critically important populations that have one common denominator: poor nutrition,” he said.

His goal is to eliminate “nutritional illiteracy,” said Gordon, who grew up in Westport and now lives in Stratford. He's also resided in Fairfield, Norwalk and Weston, Like most people, he was raised in a home where the reward for finishing a meal or good behavior was often a sugary treat. “Junk food was a way of life,” Gordon said. The NEAD management team and advisory board has included attorneys, medical professionals, nutritionists and university faculty members.
NEAD Inc. is a registered federal 501(c)(3) organization. Go to www.neadusa.org for information.