Petition Update: Good News, Bad News

I presented my petition for a food allergen poster today to the Raleigh City Council. There is good news and bad news to report. The bad news first - although the Council seemed intrigued by my petition and ideas, they ended up taking no action and referred me instead to Wake County. I was a little disappointed and felt a little bit like I wasted my time but oh well, life goes on. I'm too much of a positive person to let small roadblocks deter me.

So what's the good news you ask? I ended up speaking with someone at Wake County's Environmental Services Department (they are responsible for food safety and sanitation inspections for every restaurant in the county) about the poster idea. I talked with someone who has children with food allergies as luck would have it. They had a very good understanding of the topic of food allergies and thought the idea about raising awareness and educating restaurant staff was a great idea. I hope to work with Wake County on this topic in the future and I'll definitely keep you updated on the progress. I have not given up just yet.

So the good news in summary is that there is potential to education all the restaurants in the entire county, not just the city of Raleigh. Thank you to the nearly 400 people who have signed the petition over the past 6 months. If you have not signed it, please do so!

STAY TUNED!

Food Allergen Petition Go Time

I've been planning my petition to the City Council of Raleigh since March and tomorrow is Go Time! See here and here for my previous posts on this subject. So far, I have almost 400 signatures to take with me along with lots of information on food allergies and why education of restaurant staff is important.

I also have one entry for the poster design contest - submitted by This Is Beautiful in Raleigh. Click here to see the poster. A huge thanks to Sofia and This Is Beautiful! The poster is pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

The City Council meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday, October 20th). I'll probably speak around 2pm. Thanks to everyone who has supported this effort and keep your fingers crossed.

Gluten Free Raleigh Dispatch: 10-2-2009

Gluten Free Raleigh Dispatch: 10-2-2009

• Reminder: Gluten Free 101 Class taught by yours truly tomorrow (10-3) at Rosie's Plate. There are two or three spots left - call Rosie's Plate @ 833-0505 to reserve your spot. Click here for other classes.
• Reminder: In just a little over 2 weeks, I'll be presenting my online Food Allergy poster petition to the Raleigh City Council (10/20/09). Please see here for more information and here to sign the petition (almost 400 signatures and counting). Please click here for more information on entering your poster design.
• Click here to download a FREE "Thanksgiving 101" e-book from Celiac author and expert, Jules Shepard. The 34 page e-book contains great information on having a great Thanksgiving; including tips, a planning time line and 20 recipes. Valid until October 5th. Use coupon code "thanksgiving" when checking out (a $12.95 value).
• I've written in the past about a Gluten Free play-dough called Soy-Yer dough. The founder of that company (a Purdue University senior) named Sawyer Sparks was on the ABC show called Shark Tank this past week. He was seeking an investment of $125,000 for a 25% stake in his company. He ended up getting $300,000 from the Sharks and said he was offered $500,000 from Play-Doh. This is a great sign that the Gluten Free market is extremely viable. FYI - my daughter has been playing with this stuff for 6 months and loves it.
• Some updates on the Gluten Free food marketplace - 1,000 new products introduced in 2008 and another 552 through July 20, 2009. General Mills research shows that up to 12% of US households are interested in reducing their Gluten intake.
• Check out the new official blog from Bella Monica Gluten Free Flatbread Company - http://www.glutenfreepizza.typepad.com/. A pretty funny post is at the top which shows a video of Lee Tobin (Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse Chief) saying that Bella flatbread's are "Awesome". That's saying something, especially since Lee sells his own frozen pizza crust.
• Here is a good article with 10 easy steps on eating successfully Gluten Free at restaurants. Very in depth!
• Check out an upcoming meeting (Tuesday, November 3rd) on Food Hypersensitivities/Allergies hosted by the Raleigh District Dietetic Association. The meeting will be held at 5:30pm at Meredith College (101 Ledford Auditorium) and will feature special guest speaker Ellen Karlin, MS, RD from the American Dietetic Association. Please contact Lindsay Hecht if you have any questions about the meeting. $10 fee payable at the door.
• An interesting blog post from Twin Cakes Bakery on why they bake the way they do.
  

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!

Petition To Bring Back GF Cake @ Starbucks

Check out this online petition (already signed by over 1,000 people) started by the Triumph Dining Blog for Starbucks to bring back their recently decommissioned Gluten Free Orange Valencia Cake.

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 Update

Thanks to Sue Stock from the News & Observer for blogging about my food allergy poster petition over the weekend. Click here for her blog entry from Taking Stock.

However, it was a little disheartening to see the comment from ncsulilwolf on her blog post.
They wrote the following...

Why doesn't Becker drum up some donations and volunteers and provide them to restaurants as a public service of his interest group instead of requiring our tax payers to do this? Besides, it might end up quicker on that end if don't wait around for it to become public policy.

I'm guessing this person does not have a food allergy or know what living with or eating out with a food allergy entails. Is eating out safely a right that folks with food allergies have? Maybe we all should just live in a bubble and stop bothering the "normal" people out there. Do you feel our city government should try to make restaurants a little more safe for people with food allergies?

My goals of raising awareness for my "interest group" and helping people have safe meals will continue on despite these comments. So far, about 120 people agree with me.

By the way, click here for the petition.

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.