Letter to Faith Leaders
For food addicts, FA offers a spiritual solution that is compatible with any religion. This letter explains more.
Dear Faith Community Leader,
We believe that some people in the community you serve may be unable to make the changes necessary to support their health, despite obesity or complications related to unhealthy eating or inappropriate weight. Many of us with this problem have found help in Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). We hope you and those you work with will find information about FA™ useful.
What is FA?™
FA™ is a program based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. We offer help and spiritually based recovery to those whose connection with food can be understood as a form of addiction. We are not a medical group, nor are we connected with any particular form of religion. We charge no dues or fees and our meetings include no weigh-ins. Our membership is international and includes men and women, adolescents, and the elderly. All are welcome.
Who might benefit from FA™?
People who find help in FA™ vary greatly. Some of us have been diagnosed as morbidly obese, while others are undereaters. Among us are those who were severely bulimic, who have harmed themselves with compulsive exercise, or whose quality of life was impaired by constant obsession with food or weight. We tend to be people who, in the long-term, have failed at every solution we tried, including therapy, support groups, diets, fasting, exercise, and in-patient treatment programs.
Does FA™ work?
Like Alcoholics Anonymous, FA treats food addiction as a threefold illness: physical, mental, and spiritual. Members have maintained continuous recovery (including stable weight and freedom from obsession with food and body size) for years and even decades. Along with improvements in physical health, FA recovery has brought us better relationships, increased self-esteem, more tools for handling stress, and an ever-deepening spirituality.
Would you like more information?
We would be happy to answer any of your questions, to speak with your colleagues, or to any groups within your worship community. Please contact us via email: pi@foodaddicts.org. Additional information is available at the FA website: www.foodaddicts.org.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
FA Public Information Committee
If you are a FA Member who wants to send this letter to your local faith leader, you can download a copy of the letter to faith community leaders here. Click here for instructions on how to use the letter.
"I was amazed to hear people stand in front of the room and talk about the kinds of fears and uncertainties I'd always tried to hide. They said we had a disease, and they mentioned a spiritual solution. After the moment of relief that there were others like me, I began to feel afraid that the group was religious, that the people were going to try to convert me. I was wearing a Star of David that night, and without my saying a word, a Jewish woman suddently came over and sat next to me. She put her hand on my knee. "Relax," she said. "Just listen. No one wants anything from you. We're only here to help each other." All of my tightness and fear evaporated then."
- Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, p.55