I am a caregiver to someone with life-altering food allergies. My journey began when my daughter, Hannah, asked me to move in with her to help care for my young grandson and her critically disabled husband. Our first goal was to improve my son-in-law’s quality of life and, through personal research, we discovered he had undiagnosed food allergies. I was head chef and when we took gluten out of our diet, his body hurt less, and surprisingly, Hannah also felt better.
 
Within four months, my son-in-law died, but we continued to eat gluten free. Hannah's health improved and then she started experiencing pain, bloating and chronic diarrhea after she ate. We used the food elimination diet to identify the offending foods. If she felt better after eliminating a food item, I made substitutions and revamped my recipes. We quickly learned that she needed to remove soy, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts.

Hannah kept a food diary to correlate symptoms with specific foods. She experienced chronic exhaustion, chronic diarrhea, chronic hunger, brain fog and constant fear. Knowing gut health was one key part of the problem, she took prebiotics and probiotics and eliminated even more foods. Each change brought improvements as well as unexpected downturns. She discovered that what she put on her skin mattered as much as what she put into her mouth when she learned there was wheat germ in her shampoo and sugar in her shaving cream.
 
At her lowest point, Hannah had a list of 200 foods that she reacted to. By this time, she could only eat animal proteins and some vegetables. Needless to say, it became more difficult to cook creatively and keep meals interesting and nutritious. When she could no longer eat raw vegetables, Hannah’s positive attitude took a nosedive. When she tested positive to sensitivity to all forms of rice and rice flour, I cried because I was out of ideas for substitutions. My heart ached for her as she lost weight—going from a size 10 to size 0. For the first time in my life, I was terrified for her as she explored filing for disability.
 
Hannah was always courageous, and she stubbornly refused to give up. We always knew there was one more strategy to try, another professional to turn to, a book that would give us insight and another alternative therapy, since conventional doctors could not handle complex cases like hers.
 
When one doctor prescribed 10 belly laughs a day, there didn’t seem to be much to laugh about. But, it got easier when we could laugh at ourselves and we thought his was a clever, unexpected play on words. When Hannah was depressed, I would see her in the backyard walking barefoot in the green grass, smelling flowers and sitting in the sun. She learned the joy of the intricate colors of a sunset and ever-changing shapes in the sky. Her health improved dramatically when she associated gut health with emotions, specifically the need to forgive. We prayed and saw God’s healing power. Ultimately, it took several strategies to produce healing. 
 
Hannah would be the first to advise you to think outside the box, be determined, and never give up. Reach out and know that help can sometimes come from unexpected places, like the conversation with a stranger in a grocery store who told her about a new therapy. Or the church member with the name of an amazing nutritionist who desensitized her to most of those offending foods. There is always hope and help! Be courageous and persistent!

Due to the generosity of our amazing donors, we were able to collect over 135 pounds of gluten free and allergy friendly food at the Giant Food in Clarksville on Saturday, October 29.  The food will be split between our partners, the Howard County Food Bank and Bridgeway Community Cupboard as we work with these two organizations to provide safe food in the community.

It’s not too late to donate gluten free and allergy friendly food!  One Dish Cuisine located in Ellicott City is a permanent food collection point during their business hours.  Look for the sealed, plastic tote in the front of the café. 

Another option for donating food is through our basket program where we do the shopping for you.  Help families in need who struggle with food allergies, celiac disease, and similar health issues eat safely by purchasing gluten free and allergy friendly food baskets:

$10 Gluten Free Pasta Meal
•  Nature’s Promise Gluten Free Pasta
•  Schar Gluten Free Rolls
•  Francesco Rinaldi’s Zesty Tomato Sauce

$10 Gluten Free & Allergy Friendly Holiday Sides
•  3 Giant Canned Vegetables
•  Giant Applesauce
•  Schar Gluten Free Rolls

$20 Gluten Free & Allergy Friendly Holiday Sides Deluxe
•  6 Giant Canned Vegetables
•  Giant Brown Rice
•  Giant Dried Beans
•  Giant Applesauce
•  Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix
•  Giant Coconut Oil
•  Nature’s Promise Dairy Free Milk

Please indicate in the comments which basket(s) you would like to donate.  

Thank you for your continued support!  We look forward to announcing our Winter Food Drive date soon.

On Sunday, October 9, the S.A.F.E. Food Pantry was at the Baltimore Zoo for the Baltimore FARE Walk for Food Allergy.  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share information about our organization and our upcoming events!

We still have some other events coming up this month.  We hope you can join us! 

We started the SNAP Challenge with optimism that we could stretch our $44 ($22 for each of us) to supply us with five days worth of food.  Along the way, we learned that SNAP benefits do not go far to assist people with special dietary conditions as we tackled a diet free from gluten and the top allergens of wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.

Prior to the challenge we ventured to Trader Joe’s and Wegmans and bought the following items to total $33.96:
Trader Joe's
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 5.49
Organic Sweet Peas, Frozen - 1.99
Organic Strawberries, Frozen - 2.69
3 Bananas - 0.57
Wegmans
Organic Buckwheat Groats - 4.49
Organic Garbanzo Beans - 2.99
Organic French Green Lentils - 2.99
Organic Basmati Rice - 4.59
Organic Tomato Paste, Canned - 0.89
Jones Turkey Links Frozen - 2.59
Organic Carrots 5# - 3.99
Lemon - 0.69
SUBTOTAL -  33.96

We wanted to keep some money in the budget for buying meat later in the week, if necessary.  By Tuesday evening, we dipped into our remaining budget, spending $6.03 for some chicken pieces that were on sale, leaving us with $4.01 remaining.
 
Here is what we learned from our experiences, in no particular order:

1. The SNAP Challenge money does not go very far.  By pooling our money together, we were able to purchase items in larger quantities and increase our variety slightly.  It still did not go far enough as there are not as many fresh fruits and vegetables as we would have liked.
2. We have the luxury of having a vehicle to go to the grocery stores where we would purchase items.  Without choices, you have to buy what they have at that store no matter the price.  We knew before going shopping that some items would be less expensive at one store versus the other.
3. Although the meals were pretty well balanced with protein, carbohydrates, and fat, they were still incredibly low from a calorie perspective.  We used olive oil on just about everything to increase our calorie content per day to around 800-1000 per day per person.  Without the olive oil we would have lost 300-400 calories per day.  This is something we could do for 5 days, but impossible to sustain for any period of time. 
4. All drinks during the challenge consisted of water.  We did blend a small amount of bananas and strawberries together with water for a simple dessert shake.
5. Due to the low calorie content, it became necessary to spread out meals more just to sustain any kind of energy level.  Hunger was very common for us, and by Friday we both were starving.
6. Yes, buying organic and natural items can be a luxury.  We wanted to try to stay as close as possible to our current diet.  A lot of people with food allergies and sensitivities have problems with preservatives, additives, and pesticides, to name a few.   Also, buying from bulk bins is also not an option for us since we are extremely gluten sensitive.
   
7. Going on a gluten free and top 8 allergen free diet is a little extreme, as most people do not have to avoid all of these items.  It was hard to see other SNAP Challenge participants throughout Maryland eating their inexpensive peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, canned tuna, and eggs.  When you have special dietary conditions, it can be hard to afford safe food. 
8. Spending less on unprocessed foods means spending  more time in the kitchen.  We did not anticipate the increased food preparation time, although we were extremely grateful for a cabinet full of spices to help break up some of the monotony of our meals.
9. We did end up cheating by pulling a pound of ground beef out of the freezer on Thursday.  In all fairness, we had $4.01 remaining, but no extra energy to go to the store.

 
This SNAP Challenge was definitely an eye-opening experience for us.  We are extremely grateful to be able to afford the gluten free and allergy friendly food that we need and look forward to assisting those who cannot afford safe food through the S.A.F.E. Food Pantry.

Living on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, called the Food Supplement Program  (FSP) in Maryland, can be a struggle for many families.  Starting on Monday, September 12 through Friday, September 16, the S.A.F.E. Food Pantry is working in cooperation with Maryland Hunger Solutions to participate in the SNAP Challenge.

Since the S.A.F.E. Food Pantry has a mission to provide gluten free and allergy friendly food to those in need, we will be doing the SNAP Challenge with special dietary conditions in mind.  We encourage you to join us as a participant in the SNAP Challenge if you have special dietary needs including food allergies, celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, to name a few.

For more information on this special gluten free and allergy friendly SNAP Challenge, please click here for more information and registration. On this page you will also find a food log to help you keep track of your food for the five-day challenge.

We would love to hear from you throughout the week, so please use hashtag #SNAPSAFE as you connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email.