Delightfully Gluten Free (TM)

Gluten-Free During the Japanese Tsunami

I am often emailed press releases, and don’t very often share them.  I would, however, like to share this one with you, especially since Sara and I are working on our emergency preparedness series.  While there’s really not much you can do to prepare for a tsunami that sends your entire town 30 feet or more under water, you can, however, prepare for many other types of natural disasters.

Kudos to Enjoy Life Foods for seeing a need and working quickly to fill it!

The press release:

Enjoy Life Helps Ease Some Pain in Japan

Enjoy Life Foods Donates Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Goods to Disaster Victims

On March 11, 2011, unthinkable disaster struck Japan in the form of a massive 9.0 earthquake and a crippling tsunami. Entire towns were destroyed and thousands of lives were lost, leaving surviving citizens horrified, heartbroken, and unsure of what was to come, especially the 350,000 that took solace in temporary living shelters. The fight for the more than 2,000 survivors living with celiac disease or severe food allergies, however, was that much more complicated. Top allergens in Japan include milk, eggs, and soy. In affected areas, many stores and markets that were trustworthy suppliers of gluten-free, allergy-friendly products were destroyed. For the undamaged stores, supplies quickly ran out and new shipments were delayed, leaving those with extreme dietary restrictions panicking. In response to the disaster, Enjoy Life Foods donated $7,500 worth of their gluten-free, allergy-friendly products to disaster victims in Japan that may not have survived otherwise.

After a major natural disaster, panic-stricken survivors are on the hunt for food, shelter, and safety. For those living with gluten-intolerance or food allergies, though, the battle for nourishment is complicated by already low supplies and the inability to receive new shipments in a time of crisis. While staples like rice, bread, and crackers are edible lifesavers for many, they can spell agony for those with celiac disease. Committed to providing customers with gluten-free, allergy-friendly foods of the highest quality since 2001, Enjoy Life was quick to act when it came to assembling over $7,500 in goods to be shipped to ravaged areas of Japan. Donated products included Chewy Bars (Cocoa Loco & Caramel Apple), Crunchy Cookies (Chocolate Chip, Sugar Crisp, Double Chocolate, and Vanilla Honey Graham), Cinnamon Crunch Granola, and Soft Baked Cookies (variety of flavors), all of which are not only gluten-free, they’re also free of the eight most common allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish). Enjoy Life teamed up with other gracious companies, like Second Harvest Japan, as well as companies acting as disaster zone distribution centers, like Heathy Hutt (Sendai, Miyagi), Allergy-kko Circle Milk (Morioka, Iwate), and Allergy Shien Network, a nonprofit out of Nagoya, Ehime. Special T’s in Flemington, NJ stepped in to print labels with Japanese translation. The gracious shipment by Enjoy Life was picked up by UPS on April 28, 2011 and allowed those suffering in the wake of disaster to live life as they began to recover and rebuild.


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