[tayndrewsmama]

What do people who need assistance with food do who have allergies? Can they get much for help at a food bank? Do some places work with them? Are allergies even discussed?

Many times dh and I have discussed how awful it would be if we ever had to rely on the typical foods that are donated or used in disaster situations. Ds and I especially, would be faced with quick starvation or a slower awfully painful death. I am sure many of you know what I mean.

We really want to locate places with clients who need special dietary attention like this, but I am having a hard time with it. So far, many of the people I have contacted sound as though it never even occurred to them that anyone would have food allergies.

Does anyone have any experience with either donating for special needs or receiving food because of your special needs? Please don't flame me for wanting to seek out those with special needs. Anyone who lives a life that is strongly affected by food allergies knows how awful it would be to not have access to the foods they need.

 

[nalo]

I don't know the answers to any of your questions but I've been thinking about the same things. I've just felt broken hearted knowing there are many people with food allergies who basically have to choose food over health when only given un-safe foods from food bank, food kitchen, or whatever. The same goes for WIC though. Those stupid coupons, as far as I understand, are super limited in what you can buy and it's like the government thinks people will die without ample amounts of cow milk or something.

 

[changingseasons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoulaMary The same goes for WIC though. Those stupid coupons, as far as I understand, are super limited in what you can buy and it's like the government thinks people will die without ample amounts of cow milk or something.

You're right- I got WIC for a while. I kept asking if I could substitute things since DD was allergic to everything that they were giving me, and they said no. I said WTH am I supposed to do then? I got no answer. Then I applied for food benefits, thinking that I could just use food stamps and buy my own stuff... nope. DP makes too much money (barely), and so they referred me to WIC.

So instead we are pulling money out of our savings every month to cover our grocery budget. Which sucks... but I can't imagine what we would do if we didn't have that savings.

 

[nalo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by changingseasons You're right- I got WIC for a while. I kept asking if I could substitute things since DD was allergic to everything that they were giving me, and they said no. I said WTH am I supposed to do then? I got no answer. Then I applied for food benefits, thinking that I could just use food stamps and buy my own stuff... nope. DP makes too much money (barely), and so they referred me to WIC. So instead we are pulling money out of our savings every month to cover our grocery budget. Which sucks... but I can't imagine what we would do if we didn't have that savings.

Wow. They won't even work with you. Please G*d let Obama fix all these things that are so broken!!!

 

[tayndrewsmama]

Hey, you know what?

Warning :: Spoiler Ahead! Highlight to read message!

The farm we get milk from accepts food stamps and people buy raw organic milk there all the time with them. I love that and many of us get a good chuckle out of it.

That obviously doesn't help those who aren't around here, but at least some people can have that option. Though, I wonder how long that will last.

The Salvation Army just told me that they will stock any special items in a special place and explain to people what they are if they are interested. I still am just really wanting to find a place that knows they have people who are gluten intolerant or have a corn allergy or are dairy sensitive or something specific. KWIM? I will send stuff to the Salvation Army if I don't end up finding anyone like that though.

 

[Chinese Pistache]

Well, i don't know what kind of changes could be made wrt food banks because most, afaik, receive food donations from locals. WRT WIC, a letter writing campaign might be a good start. I doubt it's even on their radar. Correct me if I'm wrong but i think a lot of WIC food is tied up with ag surplusses/subsidies. Those subsidised farmers will resist and they're a powerful lobby.

 

[tayndrewsmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache Well, i don't know what kind of changes could be made wrt food banks because most, afaik, receive food donations from locals.

I was just thinking it would be nice if there were a way to keep tabs on when they currently have clients with special needs and those who want to could make special donations in regards to those needs. For now, it's kind like out of sight out of mind, ykwim? I am sure there are people who would like to make sure special needs are met, but maybe haven't even thought of it being a concern if it doesn't affect them.

 

[Mrsboyko]

Yep, I have had those thoughts/ panic attacks too. Natural disaster is what most concerns me though, not so much not having the $ for stuff.

My SIL's were both on WIC when their kids were very young. It took a lot of work to get their kids elemental formulas covered instead of hte typical cow milk/ soy formulas, but eventually they did. With so many babies on reflux meds and such, allergies have to be at least a blip on the radar, you would think.....

 

[kjbrown92]

I actually have some stuff that I'm giving to our local food bank that would be considered "special" but we can't eat them -- fructose (from corn, but I didn't know that at the time), some rice noodles that the kids didn't like, and I've donated things like Nutty Flax cereal and things like that, that I've gotten in bulk. Though it's an interesting point. I'm part of a Jr. Women's group that stocks the food pantry in town, so I can ask if they ever get requests for things like that.

 

[Chinese Pistache]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tayndrewsmama I was just thinking it would be nice if there were a way to keep tabs on when they currently have clients with special needs and those who want to could make special donations in regards to those needs. For now, it's kind like out of sight out of mind, ykwim? I am sure there are people who would like to make sure special needs are met, but maybe haven't even thought of it being a concern if it doesn't affect them.

Oh, I see what you're saying. That sounds like a good idea. I think I will contact my local shelter about this.

 

[matey]

We are low income. We do get WIC, ds is on medicaid, and our financial situation puts us pretty low on the totem pole, but not low enough for food stamps some how. Sounds like the same as changingseasons. I was first refused because we had too much in savings, so we knocked that down and tried again and they refused us again.

So anyway, I do WIC for the carrots, eggs, tuna and juice...none of which ds eats, actually I think my dh eats most of it. When I told them we dont do dairy they started giving me goats milk checks. But we are fine with our rice milk, I am not going to bother trying goat milk.

We squeak by with our $200/month food budget. It is pretty much a nightmare sometimes, and we often have weeks where we eat the same thing re-invented. (Right now it is red cabbage soup, unless the gas proves too much for me or ds) I WISH food stamps were an option, so we could get some help.

I once did angel tree, before ds was born, but the food is such crap. I could never do it now, it is loaded with junk and we wouldnt be able to eat any of it.

Anyway, there arent options that I know of. No one cares about food allergies. It sucks that the food we can safely eat isnt accessable through a food assistance place and we cant afford it in the stores, so we just eat what we can while living within our budget.

 

[tayndrewsmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by matey Anyway, there arent options that I know of. No one cares about food allergies. It sucks that the food we can safely eat isnt accessable through a food assistance place and we cant afford it in the stores, so we just eat what we can while living within our budget.

This is just awful and, to me, completely unacceptable. I have a lot of thinking to do on this now...

 

[tinyblackdot]

dd was completly milk/bean (including soy)/egg/nut/ intollerant, and we where on WIC, and the darn food things where of no use to us. We had to pu dd on Neocate wich is the ONLY thing WIC was good for (since medicaid wont cover neocate! which is soooooo freaking frustrating!) Here in Texas they wont een give you soy coupon, its just whole milk, or lactose free which you all know does you no good. Then eggs, which we couldnt use, and beans that we couldn't use, and when i was BFing we couldn't sue the peanutbutter, and i was always too scared to eat tuna when i was Bfing anyways....

Yeha i don't know what people would do, i guess just survive on grilled chicken and steamed veggies.

 

[changingseasons]

Yeah matey- we're definitely in the same boat. Except that DD's list of allergens is so long, so our grocery budget is 3-4 times yours because I just don't have any cheaper options. So we're pretty much taking money out of savings every month (which is supposed to be a down payment for a house) and spending in on groceries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyblackdot Yeha i don't know what people would do, i guess just survive on grilled chicken and steamed veggies.

Unless your allergic to chicken, and most veggies.

 

[*mama moose*]

ugh I have so been there. There is NO help for low income families with allergies, at least not in my area at all. I was on WIC, but we quit because we lost our car and its not worth it to take the bus to the next town to get checks for food I can't even use. I mean DH and DD1 would use the eggs and cheese so we kept going the first few months of this allergy adventure, but after we lost the car it was too much of a hassle for food only half the family could eat. They offered me no other options, except to get canned milk so I could stockpile it for after she weans

They also kept saying I could drink the juice at least, which is NOT true because it all had added vit. C (corn)
We tried for food stamps, but my DH makes not even $100 over the limit (which they lamely count before taxes)! We were on them in the past and got off after my DH got more hours at work, we thought we were doing ok without.....until the allergy thing threw a wrench in that...and like CS said, they told me I should get on WIC

I called 3 or 4 food banks in my area about 2 months ago trying to get food, and I asked if I could get just beans and vegetables because of severe allergies, and all of them said no, you get a standard bag like everyone else, they don't "take special orders". Salvation army even had the nerve to tell me I could "just donate whatever I don't like back" to them! We ended up just borrowing 20 dollars from my dad and stocked up on rice and beans.....I feel bad because my dad is living off social security and I feel like I'm constantly in debt to him between 10-50 dollars, right now I owe him a full hundred, because we just can't make our food budget stretch. I told my DH I want corn free baking powder for christmas when I saw the store we were at tonight had it for 6 dollars

It would be a HUGE help if food banks offered options for people with food allergies! Even if they don't have rice pasta or quinoa or organic buckwheat flour

, they DO usually have canned vegetables and beans, basic things without tons of additives, they could let families with allergies request that items be left out (like we went about 2 years ago and they gave us four loaves of bread, which we would not need now, or a jar of peanut butter which is not even allowed in my house right now) and those gaps could be filled in with whatever the family CAN tolerate.

 

[springmum]

Hmmm...

I just cleaned (donated) out all the extra food I had and can no longer eat (oats, cereals etc.) Most of it is organic, which I thought would be really nice for someone.

I think I'm going to call the food bank and ask about the allergy info.

Every year at x-mas my family puts together a big bin of food to donate, and if they will accept allergen free food (meant for people with allergies) maybe I will ask my family to start a new tradition - allergen free food! At the very least grains like millet, amaranth, gluten free, etc.

We're in Canada, so I'll let you know what I find out...

 

[preemiemamarach]

I will ask the WIC coordinator here at work what we have in my town. Probably nothing.

My son will starve to death without his amino acid powder, which is shipped from Europe and costs $140 for a 200 gram can. Our insurance covers it, but I don't know what we would do if disaster caused us to evacuate. We live on a mountain, so it's much more likely we'd be snowed in than that we'd be forced out. I need to put a couple of cans in my car, though. He would become protein malnourished within 4 days of pulling that ouot of his diet.

Scares the crap out of me to think about this.

 

[nalo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by preemiemamarach I will ask the WIC coordinator here at work what we have in my town. Probably nothing. My son will starve to death without his amino acid powder, which is shipped from Europe and costs $140 for a 200 gram can. Our insurance covers it, but I don't know what we would do if disaster caused us to evacuate. We live on a mountain, so it's much more likely we'd be snowed in than that we'd be forced out. I need to put a couple of cans in my car, though. He would become protein malnourished within 4 days of pulling that ouot of his diet. Scares the crap out of me to think about this.

That is really scary. Is there any way you can get insurance to cover an emergency supply so you have at least a week of backstock?

 

[preemiemamarach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoulaMary That is really scary. Is there any way you can get insurance to cover an emergency supply so you have at least a week of backstock?

We ended up coming home from the hospital with an extra can, which lasts a little over a week- as long as they continue shipping on schedule, we are already about 8-9 days ahead. I would really like to be a *month* ahead, though- we live in a very rural area, and it's not inconceivable that deliveries could be delayed at some point by a blizzard.

 

[matey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by changingseasons Yeah matey- we're definitely in the same boat. Except that DD's list of allergens is so long, so our grocery budget is 3-4 times yours because I just don't have any cheaper options. So we're pretty much taking money out of savings every month (which is supposed to be a down payment for a house) and spending in on groceries. Unless your allergic to chicken, and most veggies.

Yes, your list is MUCH longer. I know we can get by easier, since we are only without dairy, eggs and soy. We dont buy meat, so that helps out. I really hope DH will get a deer sometime while he hunting so we can at least have some meat available. Or maybe his dad will give us some of his deer.

Anyway, my thoughts go out to you frequently CS.