Online Grocery Store for Food Allergy Sufferers
If you are a food allergy suffer, where do you go to find foods to replace the offending foods you would normally eat? The organic and specialty food isles of your local grocery store will offer some choices. Local health food stores are apt to have far more choices for substitute foods than a supermarket. However, there are small towns who are unable to offer specialty food for those with food allergies. I lived in one of those towns in Southern Vermont and bought what I could locally. I then turned to the Internet for the items I couldn't find in the store.
Through my search, I stumbled upon various websites one of which was www.allergygrocer.com, formerly known as Miss Roben's. I was astounded by the amount and variety of foods Allergy Grocer offers. Here is a short list of what they carry:
- frozen foods (bread, pizza and pizza shells, meals and side dishes, cakes and muffins, vegetables and sides, pies, desserts, breakfast and meats such as potato crusted gluten free fish fillets, potato crusted gluten free fish sticks, beef gluten free corn dogs, gluten free chicken fingers and wings, etc..)
- Miss Roben's Mixes (frostings [some are gluten and corn free], gluten free bread, bagel and biscuit mixes, gluten free cake, brownie, muffin and doughnut mixes, gluten free cookie mixes, gluten free pizza, pie, pancake and tortilla mixes [some are also corn free], gluten free pretzel and cracker mixes)
- bakeware (toaster bags, containers)
- beverages (full fruit flavored drink mixes, Dari Free milk alternative, powdered rice milk, hemp milk, Mimic Creme, rice protein, hot chocolate mix, rice milk)
- breads, buns, rolls (ready to eat gluten free breads, buns, hamburger rolls, English muffins, pizza crusts, gluten free tortilla wraps, etc.)
- breakfast (cereals both hot and cold, breakfast bars, English muffins, muffins and bagels, pancake and waffle mixes, pancakes syrups)
- candy and chocolate
- condiments, syrups, seasonings
- cookies
- desserts, ice cream, pudding
- fruit and veggie snacks and bars
- pasta (pastas made from either rice, corn, potato, bean, etc.)
- personal care (shampoos, soaps, lotions, etc.)
- pretzels, crackers, chips
- snacks (baby and toddler foods, seeds and nuts, crackers and bread sticks, fruit bars, etc.)
- soups and bouillon (several gluten free soups, stocks, gravy mixes)
- quick meals and side dishes (potato flakes, canned spaghetti, beef lasagna, cheeseburger mac, beef stroganoff, etc.)
- non-Miss Roben's Mixes (bread, cookie, muffin and cake mixes)
Other features of the site include an allergen search where you select the allergies you have and the search will bring up foods without those allergens. This saves time and frustration. They also offer a printed catalog, recipes, newsletter archives, baking tips and guides, helpful links, and a page where you can read about their allergen codes.
Allergy Grocer (Miss Roben's) has been in business since 1992. At first Roy and Jay only offered a handful of wheat and gluten free mixes. Customers voiced their frustrations about other food restrictions they had like gluten and dairy, corn allergies, or even peanut and soy allergies among others. Roy and Jay took this as a challenge and removed all major allergens like dairy, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish and egg, in addition to gluten, from their processing plant. They started cleaning the equipment between each ingredient change. They modified old recipes and created new ones that can tolerate multiple substitutions.
They searched for flavorful, ready-to-eat foods that would meet special dietary needs. To demonstrate their outward focus to other food allergies and intolerances besides just gluten, Roy and Jay changed their company name from Miss Roben's to Allergy Grocer. At Allergy Grocer, the staff who is mostly female, cares about what they do. They are moms who pay specific attention to detail. They don't choose any old product because it's available. They choose foods for their appeal by sampling them. They want to make sure the food allergy and food intolerant public is aware that they don't have to sacrifice taste, quality, or selection in order to avoid offending foods.
Since the staff of Allergy Grocer have/had children with food allergies, they know how exhaustive shopping can be due to the endless reading of food labels. To help make things easier for their current and future customers, they enforce the following:
- research every product down to the original ingredient source and manufacturer
- pay special attention to the manufacturer's cleaning and allergen practices
- check the labels for products each time they arrive in the plant
- use packaging materials chosen to avoid allergens like corn, soy, and wheat
I have personally shopped at AllergyGrocer.com and have had good results with ordering from them. One thing you must be aware of is that if you cancel an order there is a five dollar restocking fee. They have great customer service and I often receive my order within a week. The amount of time it takes to receive your order, of course, depends on how far away you live and if you have ordered standard shipping or expedited. Allergy Grocer ships nationally and internationally. I highly recommend this site for those who suffer with food allergies or intolerances, or for those who knows someone who is a sufferer.
If you have any questions or comments you may contact the company at:
Allergy Grocer
91 Western Maryland Parkway
Unit #7
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Ph: 800-891-0083 (or if you are outside of the US) (240) 329-2717
Fax: (301) 665-9584
Em: info@allergygrocer.com
Em orders: orders@allergygrocer.com
Em comments/questions: customerservice@allergygrocer.com
Em baking support: bakingsupport@allergygrocer.com
Published by Janis I. Monroe
Janis is a Christian and writes poetry, short stories, novels, and articles. She finished high school in 1999 and in 2001 received her Freelance Writing degree. View profile
Eight Most Common Food Allergies: FDA Labeling RequirementsFood allergies can range from mild to severe. There have been cases where severe food allergy causes anaphylactic shock and even death. People with allergies need to be constant...- Helpful Tips on How to Take Control of Food Allergies This is a checklist for the newly-diagnosed, or for someone who suspects food allergies. It includes guidance on how to stay safe while living with life-threatening food allergies, as well as preventive measures and c...
- Kids Can Outgrow Food Allergies Kids have allergies to many things such as grass, dogs, and food. Only two percent of young children have food allergies.
- Halloween Candy and Treats? Tips to Help Kids with Food Allergies Stay SafeDoes your child have food allergies? What about children in your neighborhood? Food allergies affect as many as six percent of children in the U.S. Find out what you can do to help keep kids safe at Halloween.
Seven Children - Nineteen Food AllergiesFirst person account of raising a large family with multiple food allergies and the lessons learned.
- Identifying and Treating Your Child's Food Allergies
- Most Common Food Allergies
- How to Determine If Your Pet Has Food Allergies
- Oral Immunotherapy - New Hope for Severe Food Allergies
- Food Allergy? - it Doesn't Have to Be a Crisis
- Food Allergies: Be Careful of What You Eat
- The Link Between Food Allergies and Mental Illness
- Twelve million Americans suffer from food allergies and the number is rising.
- More food companies are rising to the challenge of food substitutions for food allergy sufferers.