Earth Fare - Celiac Support Group Meeting

From http://www.earthfare.com/OurStores/Greensboro.aspx

Celiac Support
Date: December 16, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Location: Greensboro Earth Fare
Admission: Free
Contact: gso110Community@earthfare.com

If you have been diagnosed with Celiac and don’t know where to turn, then this is the group for you! Come to Earth Fare and talk to others who are going though the same thing, exchange recipes, learn about different gluten-free foods and know that you are not alone!Feel free to bring holiday recipes to share for the first meeting.

Greensboro, NC Bloggers Needed

Live in Greensboro, NC?

Live the Gluten Free Lifestyle?

Interested in helping others in your city?

If you have any questions or interest writing about Greensboro please email me.

Gluten Free Store Tour - Earth Fare

Living Gluten-Free Store Tour @ Earth Fare
09/23/09 ~ 6:00 pm

Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in many cereal and bread grains such as rye, wheat, and barley. Gluten helps make bread elastic and provides it with the chewy texture it has when eaten. For this reason, gluten that is removed from dough is sticky and feels much like chewing gum. Gluten intolerance, also known as Celiac disease, is a genetic disease that impacts someone’s ability to digest the gluten from cereal grains. In the USA about 1 in 133 people suffer from Celiac disease.

If you are new to a gluten-free lifestyle, feel overwhelmed when you shop, and don’t know where to start or what products taste the best, then come to Earth Fare for a living gluten free tour of the store. We will highlight where to find gluten-free products and taste test some of the most popular brands. Meet others that are going through the same dietary struggles and feel more confident next time you shop.

Sign up at the service center or by calling 369-0190.

Earth Fare Greensboro Information
Store Address:
2965 Battleground Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27408

Hours and Contact Info:
Monday-Saturday 8am-10pm Sunday 9am-9pm

Phone: (336) 369-0190
Email: greensboro110@earthfare.com

Shane's Rib Shack - Free Ribs May 16th

Check out the following offer for FREE RIBS at Shane's Rib Shack on Saturday May 16th, 2009.

The first 100 people at every Shane’s will each receive a free half rack of baby back ribs and a large Coca-Cola Zero. The will also receive a numbered "Shaniac" Jersey T-shirt with a number from one to 100 indicating their place in line. The are two Shane's in the Greensboro area; one at Westover Terrace and another on West Wendover Ave.

Click here to see Shane's Gluten Free menu which of course includes the Ribs.

Upcoming White House Forums on Health Reform

Late last year, the newly elected President and his White House transition team organized and conducted Health Care Reform Community Discussions all around the country. Some 30,000 Americans participated in this community forums and submitted their feedback and ideas to the White House. To read what was sent in from all the North Carolina discussions, see this link. If you have listened to any recent speeches from the President, you've heard him say that Health Care reform cannot wait.

So how does this apply to Celiacs or those living on the Gluten Free Diet?

1. Celiac Disease is classified as a Chronic illness a.k.a. "Pre-Existing condition". This dirty little phrase may have already caused some of you out there headaches when trying to acquire new health insurance. Of the 30,000 Americans who participated in the discussions mentioned above, 13% stated that they had difficulty finding health insurance due to Pre-Existing Conditions - that's almost 4,000 people. Scale that out to the entire US population and you could quickly estimate that tens of millions of people are having the same problem. Those tens of millions include the estimated 3 million people with Celiac Disease. If health insurance companies were in the business of helping people and providing care rather than making money, this would not be the case.
   
   
2. We all are too familiar with the difficulty in finding Gluten Free food, medications and personal care products. Since the Gluten Free Diet is our only "medication" and cure in order to live a healthy life, the FDA needs to significantly improve on the 2004 Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). Since FALCPA only includes wheat, a guidance on Gluten Free labeling must be solidified and enforcement must be put into place to fully ensure our "medicine" is available and safe. The Gluten Free food we do have available is on average 242% more expensive than it's non-GF counterpart. Most GF consumers spend several hundred dollars EXTRA per month on GF groceries. How many diseases out there require you to spend hundreds of dollars each month for medication? There are some I'm sure but GF foods are not covered by any insurance plan I know of while medical treatments and prescription drugs are likely covered for most other diseases. FALCPA also does not apply to personal care products nor medications (prescription or OTC) - this must be improved. It's pretty simple - why is something that is toxic to 1% of the US population not required to be labeled on items we consume?
   
   
3. To ensure that Celiac Disease gets the proper attention, health care professionals must be adequately trained in it's diagnosis and care. Judging by the fact that estimates show nearly 3 million Americans have Celiac Disease but only about 150,000 confirmed cases exist, clearly shows our health care system is failing us. Celiac diagnosis takes on average 10 years and several doctors. People get cancer, anemia, osteoporosis, have miscarriages and develop other related auto-immune diseases before getting the correct Celiac diagnosis. Our own hospital systems attempt to poison us with their inability to serve Gluten Free meals during hospital stays. Most insurance companies do not cover consultations with Dietitians - the very folks who can help the newly diagnosed learn the Gluten Free Diet.
   

I could go on but these are the major points. So what is the next step? You may have already heard about the White House Regional Forums on Health Reform that are occurring in March and April. Guess what, one forum will be held in Greensboro, NC on March 31st, 2009. A web site has been created for this very topic and can be found at http://www.healthreform.gov/.

I highly suggest you all use the Submit your Question or Idea button on that web site to be heard on this topic. Make sure to select the check box for the Greensboro, NC forum. I plan on sending in the points I listed above - feel free to do the same, send them the link to this blog post or add your own comments. You can also use this link to simply show your support for Health Care Reform - although this does not allow you to enter commentary on the subject.

Bella Monica Flatbread Company Update - Earth Fare

More exciting news for Bella Monica Flatbread Company and their fans...

I wrote previously on the Gluten Free Raleigh Blog about Bella Monica pizzas being available in the Raleigh and Cary Whole Foods store in addition to Harmony Farms.

I have just received word that their Gluten Free Pizzas are also now available in all Earth Fare stores in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Earth Fare has one Greensboro location at 2695 Battleground Avenue. The other NC locations are Asheville, Charlotte, Boone and Raleigh.

Thanks to Trevor and his company for getting this product out there for us to enjoy.

See my previous posts about their GF Pizzas here.