The Western New York Gluten Free Diet Support Group, Inc. (hence WNYGFDSG) is a member-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports individuals and families  living with Celiac Disease (CD), Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) and gluten intolerance.  The WNYGFDSG has been in existence for 18 years and is a growing and dynamic organization, drawing from a very large geographic area in Western New York.  We have over 250 current members. This website lists our monthly meeting schedule, group dinners and social functions, as well as information about the upcoming events important to celiacs and their supporters.   Additionally, you can find information about Celiac Disease , Celiac testing, and Celiac Follow-up care.     If you would like to speak to someone from our group about Celiac disease or other related issues, check the contact names and numbers for more personalized support.Need/wish to write to us? Our address is: WNY Gluten Free Diet Support Group, P.O. BOX 1835, Williamsville, NY 14231        Welcome to the Homepage of the Western NY Gluten-Free Diet Support Group, Inc. Check out the many useful links on our site to help you enjoy living a healthy, Gluten-Free life.        What's Happening in the Gluten Free Community of Western New York?   Remember last year's celiac walk/run for awareness? We are now planning the 2010 walk and ...WE NEED YOU! Each year, our group holds a walk to benefit celiac research and awareness programs at the local and national levels. We ALL benefit from the research and take pride in the fact that we help through our local walk. It takes a great deal of plannng and preparation to put on this event. We are looking for volunteers for this year's walk. We are "Celicas Helping Celiacs" and Western New York is known for its generous and caring people. Please consider being a part of the planning for our walk. It will take our whole group, working together to make this event a success. Please contact one of our board members to see how you can help make the 2010 walk the most successful one yet.  Thanks! You can now register and collect donations online for this year's walk. Follow this link and register by clicking on Participant Registration.      Attention all Wegmans shoppers! Would you like to see GF options in the prepared foods section? How about a GF meal? You can help bring this about - Read on! Wegmans would like to pilot a prepared meal that is gluten free in one of their stores here in Buffalo.  In order for them to gain feedback regarding this option, they would like us to participate in an online survey as part of an Opinion Panel and also offer feedback as part of a focus group at a later date.  Here is how you can participate. Go to  wegmans.com   You must have an account (this is free and you can create one from the wegmans homepage).  Click on “My Account” and scroll down the page.  You should see -  Subscription Preferences.  Make sure you check the box “Wegmans Opinion Panel.” The survey is scheduled to roll out in March so you will want to sign up by the end of this month.     Here is the link to the page listing gluten free dental products that Dr. Hoeplinger mentioned at our Febraury meeting. Some of the information is a bit dated (2007) so you may want to make some calls for yourself. Still, this is a good starting point for information.    If you missed the last full meeting (January), click here for the minutes.

BUFFALO AREA GLUTEN FREE RESTAURANTS MAP You're hungry - You want to eat out. So where are all the great gluten free restaurants in the Buffalo area & how do you get to them? Our group now has a quick and easy way to locate GF friendly restaurants & stores in our area. Try using our google map and let us know what you think. Please note: The map is under construction. Not all restaurants are on the map but should be within a few weeks.

Want to get the latest newsletter online? WNYGFDSG is going green! We are looking for members to sign up to get the newsletter sent electronically instead of printed and sent through the mail. You can save a tree, save our group money that can be spent on celiac awareness in our community, and you can stay informed! To switch to the electronic version (which you can print out if you prefer a hard copy), just send an email to buffaloglutenfree@gmail.com. and put newsletter in your subject. Once your membership in the group has been confirmed, you will be sent all newsletters to your email in a PDF format. The news will even get to you BEFORE we mail it out to the general membership! Give it a try, today. Here is our Winter Newsletter for you to look at in the "online" format.   Upcoming Events  MARK YOUR CALENDARS - DON'T MISS THESE EVENTS Saturday, March 13, 2010 - Our speaker for the March support group meeting is Kristine Neunan, RN,CCRP & Co-Founder of the Honor & Hope Wellness Center in Hamburg, NY, will speak about integrative nutrition. Saturday, April 10, 2010 - Joe Catanese, Pharmacist from Pine Pharmacy, in Williamsville, will speak to us about GF medications and nutritional supplements in celiac disease. Saturday, April 17, 2010 - Save the date for another great dining experience, GF style. We will be enjoying a delightful Italian dinner at Fortuna's Restauarant, 827 19th Street, in Niagara Falls. The menu and registration form will be coming to the web very soon. Saturday, May 15, 2010 - Join us for the 9th annual Celiac Walk/Run for Awareness. Online registration is now available. Check back for our walk poster/brochure. Online registration is now available. Check back for our walk poster/brochure. Saturday, June 12, 2010 - We will hold our annual general meeting and Pancake Breakfast. More details to come but contact our group email (buffaloglutenfree@gmail.com) if you would like to help with the breakfast         Here are some of the newest additions to our ever-growing list of local GF friendly restaurants!   MIGHTY TACO RESTAURANTS The Western New York area now has a gluten free fast food alternative. Mighty Taco restaurants have a gluten free menu (click here to view). MANY of the products can now be enjoyed gluten free. (Please alert the cashier that you need your meal prepared gluten free.)       There is a Mighty Taco with GF options near you! That's a mighty great piece of news!!!!!     A new EXCELLENT Gluten Free Pizza Choice is now available in Buffalo & Williamsville. Bocce Club Pizzerias (Bailey Ave. & Hopkins Rd. locations) now offer a 1/4 sheet gluten free pizza with the great Bocce Club sauce and many, many options for toppings. The pizza is baked in a separate oven and is delicious. The base price is $5.00! Thank you Bocce Club!   P.F. Changs is now open in Western, NY! Located at the Galleria Mall, this restaurant chain offers high quality Chinese cuisine with many gluten-free options. Click here to see the menu.     Gianni Mazia's 10325 Main Street, Clarence Hollow  We have been told that this restaurant has a dedicated fryer for GF chicken wings and french fries, as well as GF ice cream cones. They are working on a GF pizza to be available in a few weeks. Give them a try.   Glen Iris Inn One of our members recently had a wonderful dining experience here. They have a separate GF menu with a number of mouth-watering choices. GF rolls are included in the meal. Wow! Head to Letchworth Park for a day of hiking and a GF meal to remember. (Click above for location, directions, etc.)   Thai Orchid Restaurant (Evanstown Plaza - 417 Evans near Sheridan Drive in Williamsville) Delicious Thai and Vietnamese menu choices. Many items have been identified as gluten free.     La Nova Pizzeria La Nova now carries Vin-Chet pizza at both locations (Main St./Williamsville & West Ferry/Buffalo.  You can now order Gluten Free pizza at LaNova's. They have a 12 inch cheese and pepperoni pizza made by Vin-Chet bakery. You can have them bake the pizza or buy it frozen to make at home. The price for the 12inch pie - $16.95.   An Old Favorite and a New Listing in the Southtowns area serving Gluten Free Choices Ilio DiPaolos Restaurant 3785 South Park Avenue - Blasdell, NY 14219 - phone 825-3675 DiPaolos has a great menu with many GF choices, including pasta dishes.  O'Brien's Pub 8557 North Main Street, Eden, NY 14057 - phone 992-4338 This restaurant has a number of GF items and a chef & wait staff who understand the gluten free diet. Our Fall dinner event was held here on September 13. All we can say - Mmmm! Gluten-free Good!   Know of a good restaurant in your area that caters to the gluten free diet? Help add to our restaurant list. Please contact Marilyn Hauck  and/or the, Paula McGirr (see contacts link).   Here is a Clarence store offering Gluten-Free products The Podge at 10205 Main St. in the Clarence Hollow Their gluten-free selections include: CherryBrook Kitchen mixes GF pastas: corn and rice Quinoa GF ice cream cones/sugar cones (BOGO) GF crackers, a few varieties All Chebe mixes Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (GF)       Betty Crocker - Now on area grocery shelves!   Look in the REGULAR baking aisle. The Betty Crocker website has many recipes, including a "no butter" option. Click here and check out these and other recipes and tips.   An update on the Chex spotters. All varieties of GF Chex are now available in our area. Always check the box before purchasing to be sure it says "Gluten Free". The cereal is delicious but does contain quite a bit of sugar and does not contain fiber (or very little). Try adding rice bran, flax seeds, ground flax seed, nuts, etc. to your Chex to get the fiber you need. And now, Kix and Honey Kix cereals have also been re-formulated gluten free. The box will not say Gluten Free (because it is not manufactured in a dedicated facility) so you will have to read the ingredients labels.     College-age Students (18 - 25) with diagnosed Celiac Disease - Got 30 minutes to complete an online survey about your eating practices? You could win 1 of 10 $25 prizes! To learn more, cut & paste URL below into web browser: http://nutrisci.rutgers.edu/eating My name is Virginia (Ginger) Quick and I am a Doctoral Candidate in the Nutritional Sciences Graduate program at Rutgers University.  Currently, I am in the process of recruiting young adults to take an online Eating Behavior survey that I developed for my dissertation.  This research study will help me assess psychographic and demographic characteristics and eating practices of young adults that have been diagnosed by a doctor with a diet-related chronic health condition (i.e., Type 1 Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Celiac Disease, Crohn’s disease, and Ulcerative Colitis).

Did you know there is a local bakery that carries gluten free items? Vin-Chet Pastry Shop 2178 Kensington Amherst, NY 14226 839-0871 Come to a meeting and purchase baked goods or visit their Amherst retail location. This is now the ONLY location for getting a variety of gluten-free baked goods. Call in your order by Friday at noon for pick-up on Saturday (between 2-4 PM). Vin-Chet's offers the following great tasting, gluten-free products:   cinnamon raisin bread Sandwich bread Cottage bread Mock Rye bread (using caraway seeds) sour cream coffee cake Chocolate chip cookies--with real butter and certified gluten-free Ghirardelli chocolate Chocolate ganache cakes and cupcakes Almond biscotti carrot cake Pizza crust: par-baked 12" crusts Pizza - cheese and pepperoni & white Hamburger  and hot dog buns tiramisu They also now carry many other GF products: Schar pasta, GF sauce, crackers and chips. Vin-Chet products are also now at Dash Markets and on Fridays & Saturdays can be purchased FRESH not frozen! Thanks, Vin-Chet and Dash's Markets.

Check out the Message Board on the Web Page and our Facebook Page! Have you ever had a question about the Gluten-Free diet or wanted to discuss a topic with others in the group but couldn't get to a meeting? Would you like to share your knowledge about area GF restaurants/products. Here is your opportunity. We now have a Message Board. Post a topic/question or add to a posting. Try it out & get involved. And for those of you who enjoy Facebook - Our group now has a Facebook group page.This is a place to share and discuss everything about gluten free living in the Buffalo area. You can start discussion threads, ask questions, and share your gluten free ideas. Click here for the Facebook page.   Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Did you know that there are new studies linking celiac disease and dental problems in children? Check out the  Articles section of the webpage.  The latest in a string of national articles featuring the GF lyfestyle can be found.   Here is a link to a great segment on the CBS Early Show, featuring GF recipes for biscuits, onion rings and pizza. The chef is the author of a wonderful cookbook, Gluten Free Every Day. Here is a link to information on the Food Labeling Act. Click here for a link to the National Celiac Spru Association - It lists U.S. government links regarding GF labeling anf food allergies in general.

Triumph Dining Cards and products - since 2005 Since 2005, Triumph Dining has helped over 40,000 people with Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity enjoy delicious gluten-free foods. Whether you're staying local or traveling, their guides and cards will help you eat at home, go out, or do both! What's available?   Dining Cards: Order restaurant meals safely in 10 languages Restaurant Guide: Find gluten-free restaurants across the U.S. Grocery Guide: Shop gluten-free in any store nationwide     Check out the launch of GlutenFreeTravelSite.com Visitors to the site will be able to quickly and easily access travel reviews organized by geographic region and read about others’ personal experiences traveling and dining out in any part of the world. The site is user-based and you are encouraged to submit a review sharing your experience from a hotel, resort, cruise, or favorite restaurant. Pass the word along to your friends & family. So...let's put Buffalo, New York on the map as a celiac friendly community by posting reviews to our restaurants.

Do you like to cook and bake? Our group has a number of copies of  Pleasing the Gluten-Free Palate, a wonderful resource for Gluten-Free cooking, ready for you to purchase. Also, our library has a number of wonderful Gluten-Free cookbooks for you to borrow (when you become a member) and create to your heart's (and stomach's) content. Also, check out this website's list of GF recipes. Do you have a favorite recipe that you could share with us? Let the webmaster know! We LOVE to share!

Information on Oats   The mission of each of the following companies is to provide the purest oats available for people with celiac disease and wheat allergies. Inspected by celiacs from planting to packaging, these companies understand the importance of avoiding cross-contamination from wheat, rye or barley.   Bob's Red Mill   now brings you GF oats! The oats are packaged in their new, 100% gluten free facility and tested for gluten again to ensure their purity. Now available locally. Cream Hill Estates in Quebec, Canada. They have an order form on the website for purchasing rolled oats (called oat flakes) and oat flour.  (The oats have been ELISA tested at below 3 ppm*) Gluten Free Oats® (This IS the name of the company), based in Wyoming has an order form on their website for rolled oats in a 2 pound 9 oz. size. (These oats have tested at below 3 ppm*)  *Please be advised that a small percentage of people with celiac disease may not tolerate even the purest of oats. If you are unsure whether oats are suitable for your diet, please check first with your health advisor before eating them.