My hot take is that actually food allergies are a disability and more people need to realize that. The amount of research people with food allergies have to do when they want to go visit places but arent sure if they’ll have access to any food there is insane. Allergy friendly food is almost ALWAYS incredibly expensive in stores bc of all those fucking fad diets that like yoga instructors and middle age soccer moms make popular. And on top of the price, it is so hard to FIND! Almost evrry grocery store ive been to has a tiny ass allergy section that is almost always near empty. Plus what about people who don’t have the money to pay 10$ for a loaf of bread? You go to starbucks and non-dairy milks are like 70 cents extra? People are definitely out there buying and eating stuff that is destroying their digestive systems because they have no other choice. I am begging people to stop pretending that catering to people’s food allergies is elitist and not worth is. We need to make these options openly available.
And this is one of several reasons that I firmly hold the opinion that prohibiting people from bringing their own food into sports stadiums and amusement parks and hotels is an accessibility issue, and should be treated as such. Concession stands and hotel restaurants do not and cannot provide enough choices to accommodate every possible food allergy or intolerance, and that means not letting people bring in their own food = not letting people eat while they’re there.
(Side point: it’s also a religious discrimination issue – and it’s even more trouble when religious dietary restrictions and health-related dietary restrictions overlap. I’ve been in the center of that particular venn diagram and it sucks.)
There was a court case which ended up mediated and established that if a facility doesn’t provide food you can eat, they have to permit you to bring your own. It was specifically about celiac.
If you have a food allergy or other digestive issue, it is covered under the ADA update of 2008.
Come armed with paperwork. Call or email ahead. And remember these magical words:
“I am requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for my disability.”
One of my go-to moves is an email like this, a week or two ahead of a visit or an event:
Hello,
I am writing to request an accommodation for my disability from your facility. I will be attending X on Y day with my family. I have celiac disease and must eat specially-prepared food from a “safe” kitchen. Celiac disease is an ADA-recognized disability and the ADA provides for me to be able to bring my own food to any facility that cannot provide me with food I can eat.
Since X does not have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, what is the least-stressful way for me to bring my own food to X on Y day? I am happy to bring whatever paperwork is necessary to show security, please just let me know what you need!
Thank you in advance for your help.
Approach it as though your right to have safe food, and that clearly the people in question are going to help you. Make clear that you know the law, but don’t be a dick about it. State as fact that they’re going to let you bring food in, and what you are negotiating is how to make that easy on everyone. State as fact that the kitchen isn’t safe, if that’s the case, and make clear that you are happy to bring paperwork or otherwise work with them to make this accommodation easy on them.
Enforcing the “no outside food” rule usually falls on the people making the least money. If you approach this from the perspective of “hey we’re both in kind of a shitty situation here, I just want to eat and not shit my pants for hours or asphyxiate or whatever,” then usually things will go pretty easily. Every once in a while you’ll run into a total dick and you’ll have to go over their head, but… usually you won’t need to as long as you prepare the way.
[ID: Text that reads: “The ADA will allow you to bring your own gluten-free food to places where safe food won’t be available. Professional mediators helped to decide a case in New Hampshire involving a tour train operator that refused to allow a passenger with food allergies to bring her own food. Ultimately, the tour train operator revised its policies to make them more accommodating to people with allergies.” /End ID]
Good for this person. This is exactly what you do. Screw the job.
I had a job that made me work an all nighter, 30 hours straight, over Thanksgiving. I resigned that Monday and it was one of the most satisfying decisions I’ve ever made.
#MedicareForAll
I've said it before, but I'll say it again:
I'm an American living in Germany. I've lived here for four years as of this week (June 2021).
Two and a half years ago, I had a medical emergency in the form of gallstones and an infected gallbladder. I tried to tough it out, like a True American Who Can't Afford Treatment, and ended up in the hospital getting the gallbladder removed. I was brought in on Thursday, had the gallbladder and five gallstones the size of macadamia nuts removed on Saturday, and was home by Tuesday. Total cost, 200 euro.
Back in March, 2021, I saw a visual distortion in my right eye, like an afterimage of looking at something bright for too long. Got seen by the eye doctor that day, got sent to the hospital that day to get a diagnosis--ocular vein occlusion--and spent the following three days getting followup diagnostics, including a full blood panel. I got diagnosed with having elevated levels of homocysteine in my blood, and that turned out to be caused by a genetic disorder that runs in my family (MTHFR-5 mutation) where I can't metabolize B vitamins correctly. And now I'm on modified B vitamins and the difference in my daily life is amazing.
Total cost for the hospital stay and all of the blood tests and eye examinations and other tests?
250 euro.
In my old city in the US--which has a nationally renown hospital--the gallbladder removal costs a year's salary for a minimum wage worker.
US healthcare if you are not wealthy is a bad joke.
I remember people saying that in Canada you had to wait months and months to see a doctor....turns out in the US you may still have to wait months to see a doctor...
boxing fight announcer slowly revealing more and more how much in love he is with one of the boxers
and in the right corner we have the defending heavyweight champion, the terrorizing threat, the grace of a panther and the eyes like king solomons finest sapphires, brutal bludgeoner weighing in at 97 kilograms and just the perfect height for me to fit under his chin if we were to hug
for the record this IS an apple hate zone yes I have an android phone yes I have a bulky PC with its own USB port yes I use wired headphones. you can go ahead and try to fight me on it but keep in mind how scrappy I must be considering I’m broke as shit and have nothing to lose and can guarantee my phone screen won’t shatter in the brawl
I just finished a delicious cosmic crisp and for the first ten words of this I was ready to fight you
for the record this IS an apple the tech company specifically hate zone I would never dare insult the humble fruit which has done so much for us that said my personal preference is fuji all the respect though
i truly believe that the Video Essay is the single greatest way of receiving information. someone who is really really into whatever theyre talking about getting to present it however they want with almost no audiovisual restrictions. what could be better.
obsessed with saying “both. love wins” when asked to make a decision between two things…it is not functional and nothing is solved but u know what? love won. what else matters truly