The Struggles of a Life With Food Allergies
Sarah Hoover
Sarah Hoover
For a lot of people food allergies consume their whole lives and people who do not have allergies do not make it any easier for them. Josie Dunlap is allergic to dairy, eggs, and peanuts and she says, “I've lived with allergies my entire life, so I'm kind of used to it. I've never had chocolate or cheese, or other products, so I've never had the need to have them. It's still hard going to restaurants and only having a limited choice and having to carry an epi pen as well as checking ingredients.” Faith Jensen is not exactly allergic to foods but is on a special diet to help her not get sick. She says, “I don't eat gluten because my parents both don’t eat it and it kind of makes my stomach upset so I just don’t eat it but if I eat a little bit I won't die or anything. I don’t eat dairy because I'm lactose intolerant and I don’t eat almond butter because there is something in the way that its processed that I'm allergic to but if I eat regular almonds I'm fine.”
In restaurants, they do not always take people with allergies into consideration when coming up with their menus and food choices. Josie talks about what she has to do when she goes to a restaurant before she orders. She explains, “Well for starters I have to either ask waiters/waitresses to check the ingredients on certain dishes or even speak to the chef about cross contamination or my options. Typically, they're great about it, and it's nothing but a couple extra minutes of time. I know certain things I can't get right of the bat, like ice cream, better, etc. I've gotten so used to it that it's been the normal routine my whole life.” Furthermore, Faith adds that when she goes out to eat it, it is becoming easier to get the same good tasting food that everyone else can eat. She states, “It is not that hard because restaurants are becoming more open to allergies and they have special menus, so it's pretty easy.” Fatima Islam who does not have any allergies but has friends who have allergies gives her opinion on if she thinks restaurants think about people with food allergies. She says, “Not they don't because restaurants only think that they provide for the customers who don’t have allergies.” With the narrow minds that restaurant owners seem to have, people with food allergies are put through extra work just so they can have a nice meal like everyone else. They may feel excluded and left out even though it is not their fault.
Some places make sure everyone who eats their food is enjoy their meals and feel included. Josie says, “Disney is phenomenal with allergies. They make special desserts like chocolate cake I can eat and are super careful about cross contamination. They have even placed an allergen free bakery in Disney Springs. Most restaurants are really good about cooking on clean equipment and adjusting, but once my family was kicked out of an Applebee's because my mom brought food from a Wendy's that I could eat since Applebee's wasn’t the safest food for me to eat.”
The interviewees also discussed how people can become more aware of food allergies. Faith says, “Restaurants can educate their workers more about allergies because some restaurants I've been to I'll tell the worker that I don’t eat gluten and they are like “what is gluten?” so I have to explain it to them and then I'm kind of concerned that it's not going to be good food because they don't even know what I'm allergic to.” Fatima also adds to the same topic saying, “People could meet others who have food allergies and understand how their diets work and what they do to stay away from their food allergies.” Lastly, Josie shares, “I really think schools should talk about it. More people have food allergies than most people think, and by educating people it will prevent some deaths and allow kids with allergies to live more safely at schools and in public in general...I think educating people on how to use an epi pen should start being included in teacher and first aid training...education could help so many people, but most of the time allergies just get swept under the table. I can't count how many times I've told someone about my allergies and they've said, “Oh, so you're lactose intolerant.” No, I'm absolutely not lactose intolerant. Allergies can cause death, not just sickness.”
Over all, people with allergies are looked over and can be forgotten about. Their needs are high because some people's allergic reactions can be deadly, and they cannot even help it. Education in schools and restaurants is imperative so more people can become aware of allergies. While there have been improvements, more still needs to be done.
In restaurants, they do not always take people with allergies into consideration when coming up with their menus and food choices. Josie talks about what she has to do when she goes to a restaurant before she orders. She explains, “Well for starters I have to either ask waiters/waitresses to check the ingredients on certain dishes or even speak to the chef about cross contamination or my options. Typically, they're great about it, and it's nothing but a couple extra minutes of time. I know certain things I can't get right of the bat, like ice cream, better, etc. I've gotten so used to it that it's been the normal routine my whole life.” Furthermore, Faith adds that when she goes out to eat it, it is becoming easier to get the same good tasting food that everyone else can eat. She states, “It is not that hard because restaurants are becoming more open to allergies and they have special menus, so it's pretty easy.” Fatima Islam who does not have any allergies but has friends who have allergies gives her opinion on if she thinks restaurants think about people with food allergies. She says, “Not they don't because restaurants only think that they provide for the customers who don’t have allergies.” With the narrow minds that restaurant owners seem to have, people with food allergies are put through extra work just so they can have a nice meal like everyone else. They may feel excluded and left out even though it is not their fault.
Some places make sure everyone who eats their food is enjoy their meals and feel included. Josie says, “Disney is phenomenal with allergies. They make special desserts like chocolate cake I can eat and are super careful about cross contamination. They have even placed an allergen free bakery in Disney Springs. Most restaurants are really good about cooking on clean equipment and adjusting, but once my family was kicked out of an Applebee's because my mom brought food from a Wendy's that I could eat since Applebee's wasn’t the safest food for me to eat.”
The interviewees also discussed how people can become more aware of food allergies. Faith says, “Restaurants can educate their workers more about allergies because some restaurants I've been to I'll tell the worker that I don’t eat gluten and they are like “what is gluten?” so I have to explain it to them and then I'm kind of concerned that it's not going to be good food because they don't even know what I'm allergic to.” Fatima also adds to the same topic saying, “People could meet others who have food allergies and understand how their diets work and what they do to stay away from their food allergies.” Lastly, Josie shares, “I really think schools should talk about it. More people have food allergies than most people think, and by educating people it will prevent some deaths and allow kids with allergies to live more safely at schools and in public in general...I think educating people on how to use an epi pen should start being included in teacher and first aid training...education could help so many people, but most of the time allergies just get swept under the table. I can't count how many times I've told someone about my allergies and they've said, “Oh, so you're lactose intolerant.” No, I'm absolutely not lactose intolerant. Allergies can cause death, not just sickness.”
Over all, people with allergies are looked over and can be forgotten about. Their needs are high because some people's allergic reactions can be deadly, and they cannot even help it. Education in schools and restaurants is imperative so more people can become aware of allergies. While there have been improvements, more still needs to be done.