Shortages add stress for allergy sufferers

Finding food can be tough, but it’s tougher when it has to be safe

Orlando resident Jessica Brown’s anxiety level surrounding her son Everett’s food allergies typically runs high.

There are the obvious challenges when your 9-year-old has severe allergies to milk, egg, peanuts and tree nuts. Finding safe foods can become daunting daily, let alone in the middle of a pandemic.

“My normal anxieties for his food allergies are like at 100, so right now it’s like at a 150,” Brown said when asked about her con

cerns during the coronavirus pandemic. “It just makes me that much more conscientious and prepared that he doesn’t accidentally eat something [that isn’t safe].”

A run on everyday stables such as eggs, milk and bread has led to empty shelves at grocery stores across the country. With increased demands and limited supplies, people have turned to purchase allergen-free products such as gluten-free bread or peanut-free breakfast bars, sending the Browns on a scavenger hunt for safe foods.

“We were actually on spring break in North Carolina when everything started happening,” Brown said from her home in Orlando. “We were in a tiny little town with one grocery store and I started to panic then because I realized it’s hard enough finding food in the first place, then when everybody’s hoarding or everybody is overbuying bread and pasta and you can only buy a specific brand, it’s really tough.”

The Brown family began stocking up on items that would be safe for Everett, but they found it difficult at times with fewer and fewer options.

It’s a concern facing the 32 million Americans who suffer some form of potentially life-threatening food allergies, according to the Food Allergy Research and

Education (FARE) organization.

“As you can imagine, stress is already an issue for families with food allergies,” said Lisa Gable, chief executive officer of FARE. “They’re trying to find wheat, milk, soy and egg replacements ... and then that adds to their insecurity at home no matter what financial situation they find themselves in.”

More adults are suffering through late-onset allergies, according to Gable. The organization has documented many cases of people eating foods their entire lives and then suddenly go into anaphylactic shock from eating those foods later in life.

Delaina Baker suffers from Celiac Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that centers around an allergy to gluten. With her immune system already compromised, Baker is forced to stay quarantined in her Orlando home and finding gluten-free products has been tough.

“People are snagging up everything even though they don’t eat gluten-free,” said Baker, a 42-year-old mother of four. “I’ve seen people post on Facebook or Twitter say, ‘Oh, I had to suffer with gluten-free nuggets’ and I’m like, ‘I needed that. I actually had to eat that.’”

In order to find safe foods, allergy sufferers have turned to online delivery options such as Postmates or Instacart. But even those options come with their own set of anxieties.

“[It] can be problematic

because the shopper that picks up your stuff is not necessarily reading all the labels,” said Dr. Tom Casale, FARE’s chief medical officer. “If you order something that’s peanut-free and the shopper out there asks if it’s OK if I substitute this because I can’t find it, I think not being able to see that label ... could be an issue.”

Baker, who relies heavily on online delivery services, is finding it increasingly difficult to get the safe foods she needs.

“Any time you try and go order online, it’s a lot of, ‘This product is low, do you want a replacement?’ and I’m like, ‘No. None of the replacements are glutenfree,’” she said.

Even if you’re able to find safe foods, the financial cost can be another problem.

“We already know in order to avoid a lot of the foods that patients are allergic to, their grocery bills are typically higher,” Casale said. “If you’re having difficulty in finding the food that is allergen-free, you [may have] a limited income now or [have been] laid off and [if you] have to spend extra money to find appropriate foods, that can add to the anxiety of the situation.”

Gable said the group is working at the state and federal levels to modify assistance programs such as WIC as well as working with food banks in the way they label and collect food, holding aside safe foods for those with life-threatening or severe medical allergies.

Food allergy sufferers

also are concerned about medical care during the pandemic.

With hospitals facing an increasing number of coronavirus patients, food allergy suffers fear a trip to an emergency room.

“I’m not willing to try anything new or new brands that I don’t know how safe they are or he hasn’t had before because the worst time to go to the

emergency room with an anaphylactic reaction would be right now,” said Brown, who said Everett’s last medical scare came around six years ago. “Even the risk of going to a hospital and catching the virus, we don’t want to take that risk and put us in a situation where we would need emergency care.”

Food allergy suffers have long banded together online, sharing life-saving information and providing support for each other. Facebook and Twitter groups are active right now as food allergy suffers navigate the pandemic.

“We’re monitoring the feeds and seeing that people are reaching out to each other,” Gable said.