With all of the head-spinning bad news swirling around us these days, I had a “positive” encounter last week that I wanted to share. It all started with an email that came in from a high school student and, well, it’s probably better just to let her share her story
My name is Rachel Brooks, and I am a high school junior from Connecticut and a member of the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) Teen Advisory Group. As a FARE TAG member, I founded Securing Safe Food, an allergy awareness initiative. Our goal is to increase accessibility to allergy-friendly food. Right now, we are striving to establish allergy-safe options in local food pantries in Connecticut, New York, and California. We are working with a substantial list of pantries, from small non-profits to large servicing banks. During this COVID-19 pandemic, food allergic consumers are increasingly struggling to access safe food. Due to increased food prices online or via delivery services, widespread income loss, and specialty items being depleted in grocery stores, this is especially a concern for the food insecure. Commonly relied upon allergy-free staples are suddenly unavailable. It is vital that all food allergic individuals are able to secure safe food during this pandemic. I understand that all your pretzels are nut-free and sesame-seed free, and that some are dairy-free as well. Would you consider donating pretzels that we can supply to pantries in need of allergy-friendly options?
The answer to her request is: ”Of course, we would be delighted to donate!!” We salute Rachel and her fellow volunteers at FARE TAG for a wonderful idea and executing on it during these trying times. Rachel – we thank you for reaching out to us and giving us the chance to participate in your program!
For more information on Securing Safe Food, visit their sites including:
https://www.instagram.com/securingsafefood/
https://m.facebook.com/securingsafefood/
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/securing-safe-food