How to Advocate for Food Allergy Signage at Community Parks
February 12, 2019
Food Allergy Signage at Community Parks
The outcome is still unknown, I could be doing all this work and at the end of the day, they could still reject it. Even though, I’ve made it through the first Parks and Rec meeting with them wanting more information, I’m still being cautiously optimistic.
Here are the steps, that I’ve taken so far in my own community to help advocate for my son and others who have food allergies in our community.
First: I emailed our Townships secretary. Most Townships have emails or a phone number published on their website of who the main contact is. In that email, I gave a short overview of my plans and how I was going to achieve them. I also inquired when the next Parks and Rec meeting was and if they could put this on the agenda. I made sure I could attend. You need to make yourself available and speak on behalf of what you want to do, because if you don’t take it seriously, then they won’t either.
Secondly: A few things that can kill any deal is money and legal stuff. At the time, I didn’t have the legal stuff ironed out yet and I still don’t -- but I’m working on it. I will post an update when I get one. But the money part, I had a solution for, without having to involved tax dollars. Double Win! Fundraising or having a local girl scout or boy scout use this as their Scout Project.
The third thing: When I was preparing for the Parks and Rec meeting, I wanted to make a handout. They will listen to you but they won’t remember it all but if you give them too much info, it will fall by the wayside. So you need to get to that happy medium and stick to the facts! My husband, a CPA ( Certified Public Accountant), he specializes and gives presentations on Government Audit and School Districts. He talks in front of Township boards all the time. He was able to give me some information and talking points. So I was prepared. I had him review my hand-out and get his stamp of approval. I broke my hand-out down into 3 parts: Facts, An Act for Change and How we can achieve this.
- Facts: I pointed out 3 or 4 facts about food allergies, that would stop, make them think and how much people could benefit from these signs. I didn’t make this all about my son, it’s about my son and all the other kids with food allergies who use our local parks. Ex: 1 in 13 children have food allergies.
- An Act of Change: Why I want to do this. Ex: Signs would be a “suggestion” and to “raise awareness about food allergies in the community”. It’s not taking away anyone’s rights to eat in the parks and it’s still the sole responsibility of the parent/caregiver to watch their food allergy children.
- How we can achieve this: aka Money. Normally, the signs you see hanging around would be paid for by the tax payers. I knew going into this, that I could find a way around that, my success rate would be higher. Fundraising!!
On the second page of the hand-out you'll want to attach a few examples of signs with measurements, so they can see exactly what you want to do. I found 3 different examples and attached them.
Lastly: The signs! You'll want to find a Municipal Sign company. If you're local to Berks County, PA. I suggest you look into Miller Municipal Signs. They have great rates on signs and their customer service is top notch! The custom signs I'm looking into are 12" x 18" and they are about $30 per sign (a steal!!! for custom signs, I think). Hardware is sold separately, so depending on how you're hanging them will depend on what you'll need. I thought this whole thing would be in the thousands of dollars. I'm barely breaking $300 for 8-10 signs + hardware. You'll also want to buy a few extra in case they get vandalized or if they grow legs and walk away.
- Go out and visit all the sites you want to hang the signs. Townships aren't going to want signs every 2 feet. Us allergy moms would love to plaster signs every 12 inches but we got to be practical. Once you start talking nonsense, your success rate will go down. But go out and look around. Scout out the best spots for the signs. If there are any pavilions, ask to hang one there too. Take pictures!!!! Having as much clear and concise information is best. Pictures are the best way to show exactly where you want to put them.
Do not forget to add your contact information to the bottom of the hand-out. If they have questions later, they have all your information right there.
I hope this helps! Our allergy kiddos need us to advocate for them! Don't think someone else will. If you ever have any questions or need any help, I will try my best to help you! Feel free to email me or DM me anytime!
Remember to tag #the_allergy_mom I'd really love to follow along on this journey with you!
Allergy Friendly Banana Bread
February 2, 2019
Allergy Friendly Banana Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon rice milk (or almond milk)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Earth Balance Whipped Organic spread (Always double check the ingredient list to make sure it is safe for your allergies!!!!)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup semi-sweet allergy friendly chocolate chips, we use Enjoy Life Chocolate chips.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2- 9x5" loaf pans.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir bananas, milk, cinnamon in another bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a third bowl until fluffy. Scraping sides. Add in applesauce to bowl with the butter and sugar. Add the banana mixture into the applesauce mixture, mix well. Then, set the mixer to low speed and add in the dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in allergy-friendly chocolate chips. Pour evenly into 2 loaf pans.
Baked until a toothpick, inserted, into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. About 60 minutes. Cool and Enjoy!
Remember to tag #the_alherrgy_mom
Happy baking!!!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon rice milk (or almond milk)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Earth Balance Whipped Organic spread (Always double check the ingredient list to make sure it is safe for your allergies!!!!)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup semi-sweet allergy friendly chocolate chips, we use Enjoy Life Chocolate chips.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2- 9x5" loaf pans.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir bananas, milk, cinnamon in another bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a third bowl until fluffy. Scraping sides. Add in applesauce to bowl with the butter and sugar. Add the banana mixture into the applesauce mixture, mix well. Then, set the mixer to low speed and add in the dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in allergy-friendly chocolate chips. Pour evenly into 2 loaf pans.
Baked until a toothpick, inserted, into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. About 60 minutes. Cool and Enjoy!
Remember to tag #the_alherrgy_mom
Happy baking!!!
The Food Allergy Research and Education have these handy dandy little cards. They have seriously been a life saver. We don't go out to eat often (and we only eat at one or two places) but when we do, I always hand our server our son's allergy chef's card. We ask the server to take it to the manager, so we know that his food gets handled the appropriate way.
I love the fact that you can write in the food allergies and it has, clearly typed, how to properly handle and prepare a food allergy person's meal. Parents or caregivers don't have to try to explain, the server doesn't have to write anything down or remember anything. Only thing they have to do is show the manager. It just makes the whole eating out process, easier. It's still nerve racking but it helps.
To make the cards hold up longer, I got some laminating sheets off of Amazon. Within seconds, I have a nice sturdy, easy to clean, card to hand around.
Allergy Friendly Chicken Lettuce Wraps
January 9, 2019
I was craving Chicken Lettuce wraps but -- I’m also trying to cook more meals that my allergy son can eat too. (The days of being a short order cook are wearing me out). With everything else going on, I’m usually writing the grocery list, while my husband is driving us to the grocery store. I came across water chestnuts in the recipe. My heart skipped a beat. Once your kid(s) get diagnosed with a life threatening food allergy, your thought process changes and you get allergy-mom-induced-anxiety. I started mentally freaking out. What if I didn’t remember his tree nut allergy? OMG I almost cooked a meal with water chestnuts! What are water chestnuts? I know they are yummy and I LOVE THEM and this was the whole reason WHY I was craving lettuce wraps! But, what, are they? Are they a nut or do they just share the name with our nemesis? I didn’t have much time to do research on them. In a quick google search, I found they are an aquatic vegetable with no relationship to tree nuts. Still I didn’t want to chance it, they share the name. There is that PITA allergy-mom-induced-anxiety again. Mini Cucumbers!!! Cucumbers are the next best thing to water chestnuts right? Sorta. They crunch. Would they work in this recipe? Won’t hurt to try. I used the mini cucumbers, so the seeds wouldn’t be an issue. I guess you could always get a regular size cucumber and scoop out the seeds.
I was very happy with the substitution! Would I make this recipe again? Hell yeah! Did my ever-so-picky he-only-eats-5-things child eat it? Yes he did! He even wanted more! MORE!!! He even ate some lettuce! I just about fainted. I even went as far as taking photographic evidence. I’m sure the next time I make it, he’ll turn his nose up at it. That’s what toddlers do right?
I also substituted Coconut aminos for soy sauce. Soy sauce still scares me with him (Classic case of AMIA).
I hope you can understand my recipe. I write, how I cook. Fast and to the point. Mom’s and mom's who work full time, don’t have time for these fancy ass recipes and long winded blog posts. Chop it up and throw it in the pan! Just make sure the meat is cooked! Mom’s don’t have time for food-borne illnesses in any family member.
Allergy Friendly Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken, turkey or pork
3 mini cucumbers- finely cubed
2 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 clove of minced garlic
2 tbsp of avocado oil
¼ cup of coconut aminos *** Coconuts are a botanical fruit but FDA still classifies them as a tree nut.
Bib Lettuce or Romaine
Over medium heat, in a sauté pan- add avocado oil and chicken. Cook until meat is light brown and cooked through. Add in the cucumbers, ginger, garlic and cook until cucumbers are warm. You still want the cucumbers crunchy, so I don’t cook them very long. Just enough to get the flavors of the ginger and garlic infused. Add in the coconut aminos and stir. Let sit a few minutes then serve with the bib lettuce or Romaine.
Enjoy!
Remember to tag #thealherrgymomblog
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