Gluten Free School Life

Previously on the R.O.C.K. site was a post about Educating Your School on Celiac & Gluten Free Diets in which I described the initial response I received from the lunch room staff about heating up my daughter's meals. If you missed it, then the answer was a resounding "No" until I filed paperwork with them officially and implemented the Federal 504 Plan for disabled children which requires a doctor's note. Luckily we have a clear diagnosis, but what about the millions of people still suffering who do not have a diagnosis or can not afford the testing due to the current economy? It is a conundrum indeed.

We were extremely lucky in the end and have a teacher who has made a commitment to help our daughter out. Ms. Caldwell asks her each and every day if she has something to heat up. Then she takes it to the teacher's lounge and heats up her food in the air tight, microwavable safe container purchased for her. Not only did Ms. Caldwell commit to heating up her lunches, but also purchased gluten free cookies for our daughter on a treat day. That afternoon our daughter wrote her a thank you note and raved over her teacher's compassion.

Ms. Caldwell should be an inspiration for all teachers, although I am sure having one food intolerance in a group of 25 is much easier than trying to accommodate a whole hand full, etc. The point is though, she cared enough about the situation to try and alleviate our struggles. Ms. Caldwell, R.O.C.K. Charlotte applauds your efforts and extend our immense appreciation.

Unfortunately, we aren't ready to end this story in a "happily ever after" scene yet...

SCHOOL/PTA FUNDRAISERS

Yes, the dreaded onslaught of fundraising flyers, packages, and information comes weekly in our children's folders. The current economy is squeezing our county's school system budgets to death. The sad state of funding for our schools is compounded by the veritable snake's pit of fundraising programs that make more than they should for supplying these programs for our PTAs to choose from. Therefore, many schools pick local eateries, companies, and stores to work with or programs that deliver more bucks to them rather than less in fees.

Since our daughter began school, in only 2 months time, there have been 4 fundraisers which we could participate very little if at all.

1. Soft Baked Pretzels - The fundraiser consisted of buying these pretzels for each child to consume in class the first Friday of every month. I had to find an Amish bakery, Dutch Country Soft Pretzels, who made them gluten free and paid $40 to have them shipped here so that she did not have to miss out on pretzels since she has not been able to eat one in 3 years of eating gluten free. And she used to love them so can you imagine how sad that would have made her feel to sit and watch others eat them knowing she could not? And how could we have participated in lieu of having to pay for the pretzels she wasn't even able to eat on top of the $40 so she wouldn't feel left out?

2. Dinner at local restaurant - Each family member's dinner raised money and children could eat a kid's meal for free. 98% of restaurants do not accommodate food allergens fully and especially when it is an item on the kid's meal menu. We did not participate of course.

3. Boxtops - On the list for Boxtops there are maybe 30% of the products that she can eat so we cannot participate very well in that either.

4. Direct Donations of $100 - I sent in $20 for this fundraising event due to the fact that our grocery bill has increased by about $60 a week to accommodate her dietary requirements at school. As you know fully, Gluten Free products are quite costly and the average grocery bill for a person eating gluten free is 3 - 5 times that of a regular diet. Gluten Free bread for sandwiches is $5.99 a loaf!

The effort has been made to reach out to her school's PTA for help in this matter. Hopefully we can help them out on ideas for fundraising without exclusion or adding to the financial burden of already struggling parents who are trying their best to minimize the inconvenience on our public schools. Perhaps I am just a dreamer hoping for the impossible - Either way, time will tell.

We'd love to hear about your experiences by contacting us at irresistiblyglutenfree@gmail.com