We will be celebrating with savings, celebrations and more over the months to come. Stay tuned:
facebook.com/glutenfreespecialty (business page)
facebook.com/melaniegfs (Melanie's profile)
twitter.com/gfspecialty
pinterest.com/melaniedweir
Don't miss out!
This weeks events:
Dietitian Meghan will be teaching a Gluten Recovery Class
this Wednesday, July 18th from 6-7pm
Location: Gluten Free Specialty Market, 2612 J Street, #1, Sacramento, CA 95816
Call 916-442-5241 to reserve a spot
Click here for more info:
Other gluten free related events include:
Sacramento CSA Support Meeting, Sunday, July 15, 1:30 – 4:00 pm
Our speaker, Pharmacist John Richards, will discuss issues relating to Pharmaceuticals and Gluten. Join
us at St. Marks UMC Meeting, 2391 St. Marks Way, Sacramento, Fireside
Room (up stairs or elevator). Also featured: our usual snack fest
(experienced celiacs, please bring a gluten-free snack to share,
together with recipe or package ingredients for those with additional
food sensitivities), vendor treats and roundtable support.
Sacramento CSA Restaurant Outing, July 18, 11:30 am
This
month, we’re meeting at the Chipotle's at 5040 Auburn Blvd. (just south
of Madison Avenue - if exiting from interstate 80 at Madison, travel
east, turn right at College Oak, then turn sharp left onto Auburn so
Chipotle's will be on your right). You can review Chipotle's allergen
listing here. We'll review cross-contamination prevention procedures before we order. No rsvp necessary (but email Diane at dcraig101@hotmail.com if you want to receive a reminder).
A Note From Melanie:
If you stopped by in the month of June, you might know that we just sent out an application for a huge grant, $250,000, with Chase and Living Social.
Applying for the Chase and Living Social grant really made me look back over our last 4 years in business and made me realize what we have created as a community. To those that have supported us the last 4 years and to everyone that is new to participating in the Gluten Free Specialty Market community, I want to share a summary of our existence.
After answering 6 questions for the grant application, we were asked what other information would you like us to know. From this question, a brief synopsis of how the creation of the Gluten Free Specialty Market emerged.
Melanie’s story:
After six years of being gluten free,
I was handed a wholesale catalog filled with gluten-free foods. Bored with the
small selection of foods at my local grocery stores and annoyed at having to
travel to multiple stores just to make one meal, I decided to start a web
store. I wanted more options at wholesale prices. Earlier experience managing a
retail store for three years gave me the confidence that I could make this
happen.
I set up meetings with field experts and attended Small
Business Association (SBA) workshops which encouraged me to be creative. Banks
weren’t loaning money to start ups without experience. With encouragement of
the local Celiac Sprue Association group (Diane Craig and Joan Leforestier) Joan Leforestier) and my family, I used my savings and
rented a hole in the wall office space necessary to order food products. I
completed the distributors required checklist and submitted my first
distribution account application. At 6
weeks I was out of money. I had a food distribution account and a
business partner but my 3 month lease had been pulled. Upset regarding the
number of people who arrived to visit me, my landlord was upset. I negotiated a
sampling event in the parking lot in exchange for moving out early.
About a month later, I had moved into a new space consisting
of 400 square feet and a had list of gluten free contacts from my tasting. The
store was filled with 6 shelves and a fridge and I had a phone, an internet
connection and a business license. Since my budget was meager, I opened my
doors to the public and began to call and contact everyone on my list to let
them know we were open for business.
From the beginning to the present day, the business has
consisted of challenge after challenge and creative solution after creative
solution. If it weren’t for a community of locals cheering the way forward, the
problems faced may have halted the business from ever existing. The store was
literally built with blood, sweat and tears. Some problems we faced were
relatively simple like acquiring shelving and fridges. Other problems were more
complex.
How is your business involved with the community you serve?
When we opened in 2008, very few
options existed in the Sacramento
area for individuals with dietary challenges. Store owners, Melanie and Chris,
have invested in the community by creating and compiling educational materials
for the local community regarding: gluten (what it is), food allergies and
celiac disease. With degrees in research from both California State University
Sacramento and Oxford Brookes University, UK, Melanie is focused on compiling
and sharing scholarly information not only with her customers, but with the
community at large. In addition to authoring a monthly article for Health and
Fitness magazine, she provides the public with hand-outs sheets on topics like ‘starting
a gluten free diet’ and ‘dining out’. Chris, a former high school teacher,
offers Melanie guidance on how to present information effectively and efficiently.
Both Melanie and Chris are focused on educating the public about health and
wellness. Monthly classes that are often
hosted at the Gluten Free Specialty Market by health practitioners like Meghan
O’ Hara, a local dietitian with Celiac Disease. Meghan O’ Hara regularly teaches
a gluten free class for beginners and a class on ‘low sugar’ and ‘sugar free’
meal planning. In July, she will be starting a new class on ‘healing the gut’ a
topic that is explored by gastro-neurologists, but is often neglected in
consultations with dietitians. All classes are provided free of charge as a
public community service. Knowledge has the power to transform a community and our market in midtown Sacramento serves one of
the most diverse and fastest growing communities of gluten free awareness in
the country.
In addition to supporting the
growth of safe gluten free menu options in the local community, our market
encourages local residents to support gluten-free establishments by providing regional
bakery options in one central location. Some of our local options include:
Mariposa Bakery from Oakland, Azna Bakery from
Cameron Park, Crave Bakery from San Franciso, Zest Bakery from San
Carlos, Miglet’s Bakery from Danville,
Kerry’s Sweet Decadence from Livermore, 7
Sisters from Citrus Heights and Gluten Free Gourmet from Campbell. We even offer special order items
like birthday and anniversary cakes for special occasions from bakeries like
Miglet’s, Azna and Zest.
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