North Carolina Governor Declares May Celiac Disease Awareness Month

Media Release

North Carolina Governor Declares May Celiac Disease Awareness Month

• Triangle residents can participate in a gluten-free food drive at various locations or make a monetary donation to help stock the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina
• Bella Monica Italian Restaurant is hosting a six-course gluten-free dinner prepared by Vanessa Maltin, food and lifestyle editor for Delight Gluten-free Magazine
• A top food allergens poster is available for restaurants to download to educate their staff about these items, including gluten

Raleigh, N.C., USA, April 30, 2010 – The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog has announced Governor Beverly Perdue has declared May 2010 “Celiac Disease Awareness Month” in North Carolina. The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog and Pat Berger, leader of the North Raleigh Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) Support Group brought the petition to the Governor’s office regarding the awareness month.

Celiac Disease is a genetic autoimmune disease that affects one in 133 people in the United States. It interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food and can cause gastrointestinal and neurological issues, infertility, skin rashes and cancer. The only treatment for Celiac Disease is lifelong, strict adherence to a gluten-free diet.

“The Governor’s proclamation paves the way to further educate the community on Celiac Disease and helps to create a positive impact on the quality of life for people living with this condition,” said Zach Becker, creator of the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog. “It’s my goal to help raise awareness so those living with this disease can safely eat out at restaurants and have easier access to gluten-free food.”

In an effort to educate, raise awareness and give back to the community, there are a number of gluten-free events scheduled during the month of May.

• A gluten-free food drive will be held on Saturday, May 8 to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Special discounts at the drop off locations may be available in exchange for your donation. Bins are set up in each of these locations to accept the packaged gluten-free non-perishable food items:
o Rosie’s Plate – N. Person St., Raleigh
o Bella Monica Italian Restaurant – Edwards Mill Rd., Raleigh
o ZPizza – Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh and Cornerstone Dr., Cary
o Mellow Mushroom – W. Peace St., Raleigh
o Whole Foods Market, Raleigh – Wade Ave., Raleigh
o Earth Fare – Moncreiffe Rd., Raleigh
o Harmony Farms/Café Harmony – Creedmoor Rd., Raleigh

• A virtual Gluten Free food drive will be held all month to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina with gluten-free food. The link to donate can be located at the top of the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog.

• On Sunday, May 16, beginning at 5 p.m., Bella Monica Italian Restaurant will host a six-course gluten-free dinner prepared by Vanessa Maltin, food and lifestyle editor for Delight Gluten-free Magazine and Corbett Monica, head chef at Bella Monica Italian Restaurant. They will be preparing dishes from Maltin’s gluten-free cookbook entitled The Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook: Spicing Up Life with Italian, Asian and Mexican Recipes. Copies of the cookbook will also be included. Tickets are required for this dining event and can be purchased by calling Bella Monica Italian Restaurant at 919-881-9778.

• The Gluten Free Raleigh Blog worked with Sofia Noble of the design firm This Is Beautiful to create a poster featuring all of the top food allergens, including gluten. This poster is now available for download in English and Spanish at the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog. Wake County restaurant owners may use it to educate their staffs about these foods.

“Research indicates there are approximately three million people living with Celiac Disease in the United States and of those, only about 120,000 have been diagnosed,” said Alice Bast, founder and president of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA). “It’s great to see North Carolina working to raise awareness about this disease so perhaps others can be accurately diagnosed by their doctors. Zach Becker and the entire North Carolina Celiac Disease community should be commended for their leadership and successful advocacy efforts.”


About Gluten Free Raleigh Blog
Zach Becker was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in May 2008. He founded the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog in August 2008 and has created similar blogs across the state. He has recruited writers for these blogs so gluten-free information in those communities can be shared. The blogs contain restaurant and grocery store reviews, summaries of national news as well as highlight local companies that cater to the gluten-free community. Becker is an advocate for those living with Celiac Disease in the Triangle and donates his time to educate the newly diagnosed, local restaurants and government leaders on this condition.

Food Allergy Poster & Petition Update

Back in March I created an online petition to the City of Raleigh for a food allergen educational poster requirement for restaurants. The idea was to have a poster detailing the top 8 allergens (peanut, tree nuts, cow's milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish) plus Gluten (wheat, barley, rye & oats) posted at each restaurant in the city in an effort to raise awareness of food allergies among kitchen staff. I believe a poster detailing what the major food allergies are along with common ingredients can go a long way in helping folks have safe meals.

Click here to see the original post & click here to see (and sign) the online petition if you have not already. There are currently 278 signatures on the petition - a huge thanks to everyone who is supporting this effort and leaving great comments. My goal was to present this idea to the Raleigh City Council once I received 300 signatures. It is now "Go Time".

I have officially filled out the request to appear before the Raleigh City Council on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 1pm. I supplied a ton of supporting documentation about food allergies from (The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network - FAAN and Food Allergy Initiative - FAI) as well as items about Gluten allergies and those of us with Celiac Disease. I expect to speak before the council around 2pm that day - if you want to come out and support this effort, please feel free!

Here is where I need your help!

1. Please sign the petition if you have not already. The more signatures on the petition when I go in front of the city leaders the better credibility we have as an organization.
   


2. I am launching a contest for my readers to create the actual design of the food allergy education poster. There are some out there I have already found concerning the top 8 allergens but none include Gluten and none have that special Raleigh flavor. I know there are some great design folks out there - here is your chance to get your design in every restaurant in the city while helping those 12 million Americans (3 million children) along the way. Come up with a design, put it in .pdf format and email it to me. I will collect all entries and present them here on this blog for the readers to vote on to determine the winner. Please submit your design via email by Friday, October 16th at 12pm. Please include all the top 8 allergens plus Gluten on your poster with some details about each allergen and what kitchen workers should watch out for. Please also include a process restaurant staff should follow when they encounter someone with food allergies to ensure they can have an educated choice about a safe meal.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that this idea can become a reality and the citizens and visitors of Raleigh can make a huge step towards having safe meals at restaurants. Currently, New York city is the only place in the USA with this requirement. Let's make Raleigh the 2nd!

Food Allergy Poster Petition Update

I wrote about a petition I started back in March and so far have collected 138 signatures. Thanks to everyone who has signed the petition and supported me in this effort.

I have set a goal of getting 200 signatures before beginning the process to get in front of the Raleigh City Council. Please sign the petition if you have not already and forward it to your friends and family.

Click here to sign the Food Allergy Education Poster Petition to the City Council of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Petition to the Raleigh City Council - Food Allergen Poster

Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about new ways to improve the lives of those with Celiac Disease and/or nother food allergies. Dining out in restaurants is a big issue for the estimated 12 million Americans with a food allergy. For those of us on a Gluten Free Diet, we are well aware of the dangers of eating out.

About this same time, I saw an interesting article about something the City Council of New York City did. The NYC City Council actually passed a law which requires restaurants to display a food allergy education poster and will fine locations $100 for non-compliance. I thought this was a great idea and would be a good starting point in the education of food service workers in the food allergy arena. Of course this does not guarantee that food allergy sufferers can have a safe meal, but it is a start down that path. Food service workers need to know what the allergies are and how to prevent cross-contamination.

So, I decided to email the Raleigh City Council about the issue and my proposal. I offered up my services on the creation of the poster and anything else they would need. I have not heard back as of yet. In the meantime, I created an online petition to gain a little more ammunition. Please take just a few minutes to read the petition and to sign it. The more signatures, the more the City Council will take this issue seriously. Thanks for your time and support!

Click here to sign the Food Allergy Education Poster Petition to the City Council of Raleigh, North Carolina.