Troop advocates for gluten-free menu options

After years of packing gluten-free lunches for her daughter, who has celiac disease, Kristina Caratelli, of Seaford, is feeling relieved: Gluten-free meals have been added to the Seaford School District’s menu.

Giuliana Caratelli, 10, a student at the Seaford Manor School, was diagnosed with celiac in April 2018. Due to her immune reaction to eating gluten, she was unable to buy school lunches in the cafeteria.

Luckily, Junior Girl Scout Troop 3656 — of which Giuliana is a member — was eager to address the lack of dietary options for her. The troop decided that for their Bronze Award, the first in a series of medals that move up the Girl Scout rankings, they would complete a project that directly affected their fellow scout.

After presenting their idea to the principal and assistant principal of Seaford Manor last September, according to Kristina, Troop 3656 began working with the district’s food service director, Betty Ann Fiola, on a plan to add gluten-free options to the lunch menu. Their efforts were a success, and they made a presentation to the district Board of Education at a meeting on March 9.

Giuliana began by telling the trustees about celiac disease. “A bunch of foods are not gluten-free,” she explained. “However, some brands have started to make gluten-free versions of my favorite foods, like pizza, cake, cookies and bagels.”

Her fellow scouts then took turns explaining their Bronze Award project to the board. Each girl spoke about how and why they wanted to add gluten-free options to the district menu.

They worked with Seaford Manor administrators, and gluten-free options were added to the lunch menu on Feb. 1. Among them are Giuliana’s favorites, gluten-free pizza and gluten-free bagels.

“It was amazing, and it brought me to tears knowing they wanted to do this for her,” Kristina said in a phone interview. “It was pretty cool, and it’s brought an awareness about gluten allergies.”

Though her daughter had been unable to buy lunch at school since the second grade due to the disease, Kristina said she didn’t mind packing lunches for her every day. “We had a supportive group of friends and family,” Kristina said. “Not many people are aware of gluten, and Giuliana gets sick if she eats gluten.”

At the beginning of their project, the scouts taste-tested standard dishes containing gluten and their gluten-free counterparts. Some of them actually preferred the gluten-free food to the regular food containing gluten.

The Scouts, sporting their Junior sashes, brought colorful posters to their presentation to the school board to share the news of their success. One of the posters read, “Breaking News: Gluten Free Food.”

“There are so many people with different food allergies and food needs,” said Kristina. “It’s nice to not make lunch every single day.”

After the group’s presentation announcing the culmination of their hard work, board trustees and administrators congratulated the girls on their accomplishment. “What a great project,” Superintendent Dr. Adele Pecora said with a smile at the meeting. The girls informed the board that posters had been sent to other district schools, notifying them of the modified menu.

Giuliana will be graduating from the elementary school at the end of the school year, and will attend Seaford Middle School.