How Do We Get Restaurants To Consider Being Part Of The Gig Program Described On This Site?

[mommyto2kids]

I'd love love love to work on that in my community, northern CA. Not much safe choice around here. My kids miss eating out and wish I could go out more.If you know how this program works, please let me know. Two women just started a gluten free bakery. They are opening up the doors for change. As you may recall the highest end restaurant glutened me and they really didn't care when I called them back to report how sick I was.

Is there a complaint site for gluten poisening. That would be cool. There needs to be one.

[rosetapper23]

Have you tried contacting GIG directly? They're very friendly people! I worked with them when they were developing their restaurant training program because I was developing a similar program for my senior project while attending St. Mary's College in Moraga. (By the way, which part of Northern California do you live in? I live in the S. F. Bay Area.) The Executive Director, Cynthia Kupper (pronounced like "Cooper"), flies all over the U.S. to meet with CEOs of large chain restaurants so that their staff can get training and gluten-free menus can be put together. I don't think it's a free service, though, so a restaurant would definitely need to be interested in serving people who can't tolerate gluten. Perhaps there would be a way for you to receive the training from GIG directly, and then you could train some local restaurants (either free or for a fee). Try giving GIG a call--something wonderful might happen. Their website is www.gluten.net.

[mommyto2kids]

So what do you do now? Do you have a phone number for this person, I'd love to talk to her about this. You never know, I do have 2 teaching credentials. I just want to educate and have people care. I just had a hysterectomy and only one nurse knew what celiac even was. My husband is a nurse and he had never learned about it before. Thank you for your info. I'll check it out.

[rosetapper23]

You sound ideal! Cynthia Kupper can be contacted at 253/833-6655 or cynthia.kupper@gluten.net .

Also, if you live anywhere near Marin, there's an active GIG chapter there. It's the first and, I believe, only GIG chapter in California If you're interested in their contact information, just let me know. Where do you live in Northern California?

[mommyto2kids]

Unfortunately I'm about 3 hours north of Marin. As far as I can tell, my area has nothing. It is hard to brave celiac with nothing. Do you have celiac? Yes any info you can pass on to me would be wonderful. I haven't figured out the private messaging here. Remind me again how it works. Thanks so much for helping me. I was looking at the GIG web site. They have a really neat magazine on line for kids written by kids. We should pass the word on how cool this is!

[rosetapper23]

Yes, I have celiac--was diagnosed more than seven years ago, but I believe it was triggered when I was 11. Even so, I had horrible bone, muscle, and connective tissue pain from birth because I was born with Rickets--we believe my mom's celiac was triggered during her pregnancy with me, so I was born with nutritional deficiencies.

Three hours away from Marin? Are you in Redding or thereabouts? My stepmom lives there, and I visit several times a year. Going out to eat is a drag, though, because there are hardly any restaurants that accommodate. The Chevy's manager actually suggested that I leave because he couldn't guarantee my safety. However, if you live anywhere in the Northern part of the state, I know what you're faced with. No one seems very educated about celiac or preparing gluten-free meals safely.

The kids/teens group sponsored by GIG really is a great program. The young man who started it spoke a few years ago at the annual conference in Seattle. GIG also sponsors several gluten-free Kids' Camps during the summer, which is a huge undertaking since volunteers (some are dietitians) are the ones who do all the cooking and serving. However, the children get so excited to meet other children who are just like them and to be able to eat anything that's served--it's the best! There are a number of good celiac groups out there, but I've received a lot of guidance and support from GIG. I try to attend their annual conferences every year, but I had to skip the last one (it was in Florida, and I'm trying to save to visit my daughter in Australia in November). GIG is responsible for putting together the program that certifies the large restaurant chains (which is a huge and difficult process) and they have a program for certifying food products, too. They perform regular surprise audits of the companies that become certified. They're definitely a very hard-working group that operates just on donations and lots of volunteers. I'm sure they would be delighted to get to know you and to learn of your interest. Cynthia Kupper is a certified dietitian and has devoted most of her life to making GIG what it is today.

Regarding the private messenging, you need to go to your log-in at the upper right of the screen and drop down the menu to choose "messenging." You'll be able to figure it out from there. I'm not too experienced using this feature either, but I've communicated with a few members.

How long have you known you have celiac? Do you know anyone else in your area who has it?

[mommyto2kids]

Yes I live near where you are speaking of. Oh my, I can't believe the Chevy's manager asked you to leave! You see why I want to make a difference. I was diagnosed in May. So many things to learn. It is quite the journey.

I don't know anyone, but know of some people I'm going to try to meet who have it. I'll contact that person when I have the chance. What is your line of work now? Maybe don't tell me where for safety purposes.

[rosetapper23]

I work in education, but I'm hoping to retire soon in order to work in the medical field. I would very much like to create a job, such as health advocate, that would help doctors understand how to identify celiac...and help patients who have been newly diagnosed. Of course, this is a dream job that doesn't yet exist, but I would like to pitch it to Kaiser or possibly Blue Shield. I know I can save insurance companies a ton of $$ by identifying people who have celiac.

I'm sorry to hear that you live in a part of the state that is largely uneducated about celiac--it's about five years behind the S.F. Bay Area.

[mommyto2kids]

I'd love to be part of your dream job. I'm in education too. I've been working hard to keep my credentials up to date, early childhood and multiple subject. I need 20 more hours before December for my site supervisor permit in early childhood. Anything you'd suggest I read or can think of that could work tward these hours for renual that would also educate me tward this cause? Do think there may be a paid position from this part or the state someday working with celiac advocacy? What a dream. Now how do we do it?

[rosetapper23]

Since this job doesn't yet exist, I'm also pondering which classes or degrees might help me further my goals. I only have a B.A. (I'm classifed, not certificated, though I've taught at the postsecondary level) and have thought about returning to earn my Master's in Health Administration....but that sounds sooooo boring (and costly!!). I'm always looking for training that might help me develop an advocacy-type position, but, of course, mainstream medical training only focuses on "standard of care," which doesn't really allow a professional to suggest natural treatments. I'm so far from mainstream medicine, it would be hard for me to work in an environment that doesn't accept the concept that there ARE some diseases and disorders that can be treated with diet and natural supplements. The type of job I envision is one that allows for travel throughout a large region to speak with groups of doctors (primary care physicians, dermatologists, gynecologists, neurologists, dentists, etc.) to educate them on the varied symptoms of celiac that can be missed. Then, after more patients are diagnosed, I would counsel the groups of newly diagnosed patients to help them adjust to a gluten-free lifestyle and to provide them with resources. Finally, I would hope to develop statistics over time that would demonstrate to the medical community the cost-effectiveness of identifying people with celiac and gluten sensitivity and the health benefits to their patients.

I may have to actually start a business that contracts with hospitals to do all of the above, but I would prefer to be able to convince a large healthcare provider like Kaiser or Blue Shield to give me a chance to educate their doctors, nurses, and patients.

If you're interested in getting into a field like this, I can only suggest that you start a GIG chapter in Northern California (a large area that would include Redding, Red Bluff, Corning, Chico, Paradise, etc.) so that you can gain experience in providing support to celiac sufferers. I think that eventually the medical community will become more open to learning about celiac and dermatitis herpetiformis--and then you and I will be ready and willing to help them.

[mommyto2kids]

It is neat you have an idea of the job you'd like to do. Yes I will give her a call this week. I was thinking about doing a write up on some of the successful(kind,helpful, we don't get sick) gluten free bakeries in this area. Just a thought I'm working on. Instead of giving any attention to all the poor restaurants, to give some attention to the good ones. Then submitting it to a local magazine.

[rosetapper23]

That's a good idea! I contacted a local magazine about five years ago to write a positive story on the restaurants that offered gluten-free menus in our area, and they were very interested in publishing it. They had scheduled the story to run two months from the time they interviewed me about my idea...and then I got diagnosed with breast cancer a week later. Unfortunately, by the time I'd recovered from the surgeries and chemo, the magazine had changed owners and now was going in a different direction.

However, it's likely that your local magazine may be very interested in this type of story. Going gluten free is becoming more commonplace, and there are lots of statistics showing how the industry is growing. I think these types of stories spur other restaurants to look into new ways they can make more money in this difficult economy.

I've thought about approaching a small newspaper in our town about writing a weekly column on celiac--there are tons of topics that could be covered. Maybe after I get back from Australia, I can give this some more serious thought.

Good luck with your article!

[mommyto2kids]

Have a fun trip! Los Altos and Palo Alto have a little newspaper. Sunset Magazine is in Meno Park or there about. I wonder if they'd be on board. That would be wonderful if they'd listen. My husband used to be friends with someone that worked there, maybe that is a thought.