To any friends of glutenfreejoplin who might be still checking with this blog I want to send a note to let you know what has been happening with our group here in Joplin.

Our city is still definitely feeling the effects of the tornado but things have improved a great deal. We are in a rebuilding phase but there is so very much to do. None of us really know what the city will look like and it is still very confusing when you go into town as there are still no street signs in the affected area. And the power is still a huge issue in the path of the tornado and they say it is very dark in there at night. I have been struggling with my health a lot lately and so don't get out much in the evenings.

We have given out a lot of gluten free food to Celiacs and gluten intolerant people in our group and in our community on behalf of the lovely, caring and generous Celiac community around the country. I have just been amazed at how many parts of the country individuals and groups and vendors have sent food from for those in need after the tornado.

Most of the people we have helped are in some kind of home now and we even have one member and her family who got one of the Extreem Home-makeover homes that was built here....very exciting! Kari, Her husband and their 4 children lost their home, cars and possessions in the tornado. So it is wonderful to see them in a home now. They are very nice people.

I don't know the stories of the people who got food from the gluten free shelves at Mission Joplin but the volunteers that work there have told me there have been families that needed the gluten free food and were very grateful for the foods provided. We have now discontinued supplying gf food at Mission Joplin as we have not had any food coming in for almost two months.

We have had gift cards to a local natural foods store to give and when they are gone that will be the end of this effort.

I am grateful to be able to help you get gf food to those in need. I ask that you continue to pray for our community as we put our city back together.

God Bless you all. Rita Greenstreet

We are past the three month mark now since the the E-5 tornado swept away about a third of Joplin.

I am sure that I have mentioned this in so many of my posts but I must say it again. the Celiac community have been very generous to those affected by the tornado in Joplin and much gluten free food has been sent to me to distribute to the gluten intolerant in our group and in our area. But now these past few weeks the deliveries have stopped so our work is about done here I am thinking. I bought some gf food again today at one of the local health food stores for the food pantry and i have enough to do that a few more times. I think we can keep the gf shelves at Mission Joplin going a little longer. Because we are listed on RebuildJoplin.org there are Celiacs going to Mission Joplin for gluten free food and that is why we have food there in addition to what has been given from our home. We are grateful to Barbara Hicks from the Branson?Kimberling City Celiac Support Group and also Johnna Perry from Kansas City who have been such an encouragement to me and to the Celiacs in Joplin. Several of the ladies in our support group here"Southwest Missouri Celiac Support Group " have helped me in a number of ways . It has been an opportunity for me to get to know our group so much better and I am looking forward to our upcoming meeting on the 3rd Saturday of September. Good afternoon all.

Mission Joplin's gluten free shelves were almost empty today. I took 5 boxes of gf food in and a couple of really sweet volunteers helped me stock and straighten the shelves.

That is leaving some considerable gaps in the shelves here but as I said in the last entry, things seem to be gearing down. I do have some gift certificates to give as a Celiac Support Group in Denver donated $500.00 in gift certificates from Suzanne's a local health food store that carries quite a bit of gluten free food. that will be nice for folks as they can choose what they like. There is also some money left from what Bi-State Celiac Support Group Donated to Joplin Celiacs to Celiacs to buy gf food. (they have gone on hiatus for awhile and wanted to do something special with money on their budget. I will buy gf food as long as that holds out but of course with the cost of gf food that won't be to long.

There were several people that asked me to let people know by way of this blog if we were running out of food.

I must say however , the gluten free community has been so very generous and have sent food for close to three months now and we have given it to all those we have found in Joplin that have Celiac disease or are gluten intolerant. We all truly appreciate all that everyone that has donated in anyway has done for the gluten free community in Joplin.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Well I am not sure if anyone is checking or reading this blog anymore as I find I am not much of a blogger. It is quite difficult to think of things to write if you do not have anyone in particular that you are writing to.

However in case anyone is trying to keep up with what is happening with the gluten free in Joplin and our Celiac Support group in particular I will put you up to date.

Our Celiac support group had suspended meeting until September and that is just around the corner. We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 3-5 PM at Forest Park Baptist Church, on 7th and Rangeline Road in Joplin MO. That would make it September 17th this time.

The next thing I need to mention is that while donations have slowed down considerably we still have gluten free food for those that need it. We have had several people here this week and I know of a couple more that will be here this week yet. They are finding a variety of food as people who have donated have sent varied types of gluten free food. We don't have as many snack foods left, probably more mixes and pastas. many more families are getting into some more stable housing even if it is temporary housing like the FEMA modular units so they will be able to do some cooking. As I have said before it will be some time before homes are rebuilt but the process has started as much of the debris has been removed.

As far as Mission Joplin is concerned, we still have our gluten free shelves there and folks are definately using it. As a matter of fact there have been considerable gaps in the food there. I am not sure how much longer we will have enough food to keep it stocked but we will continue to take food in there as long as we have gluten free food to give.

One really nice part of this for me has been the relationships that I have made. Both with Celiacs and gluten intolerant here and the volunteers in our area that are Celiacs and have needed a little help with food and the also the wonderful people who have donated food. We have some wonderful, generous vendors who have sent food to help Joplin Celiacs and i have really enjoyed the conversations I have had with many of them. As you can see by this blog...I am not the greatest writer and my emails are often a bit slow but I have tried to keep up. thanks again for all the love that you have sent to folks in our area. It has been what has kept us going. Until next time...be well RitaG

Joplin Tornado The Road Back

http://youtu.be/P9e8B6yX2-c

http://www.kcchiefs.com/media-center/videos/Reflection/29f146d3-aa37-463f-b915-cde197a7344f

Facebook

To those of you who are Facebook followers, If you do a search for
Forest Park Mission Joplin
You will link to a page that tells you much of what is happening at Mission Joplin where we have one of our gluten free food pantries.  Thanks to Johnna Perry of Kansas City, we have three shelves in that location that we keep stocked with donations from those who have sent food from around the country to help Celiacs and GF Folks in Joplin.

Gluten Free Food Pantry Joplin

For those of you who are newer to this blog...I have had some inquiry's about where we are giving out the gluten free food that is sent for those affected by the tornado in Joplin. We actually have two locations. One is at the home of the leader of the Southwest Missouri Celiac Support Group Joplin. (that would be me:) )and as I am a little hesitant about putting my address on a public blog please email me at glutenfreejoplin@gmail.com
and I will give you directions.
In some cases we are taking food to people as some still don't have good transportation. (thousands of cars were destroyed in the tornado).
The other location to pick up gluten free food is at "Mission Joplin" a ministry of Forest Park Baptist Church. The church is on 7th and Rangeline and "Mission Joplin"
is a block south at 8th and Highview in Joplin. We are trying to keep their three gluten free shelveing units stocked.
The church is north of the path of the tornado and we live south of the path of the tornado so that should accommodate most folks who are in need of the gluten free food.
For those of you who are wondering what to send in the way of donations,at present we would most need snack bars and protien bars and that kind of thing as those do not need cooking.
Due to the generosity of many vendors like Bloomfield s, Domata and Better Batter we have quite a few cake, cookie and pancake mixes and although people will be using those soon...our weather here in Southwest Missouri is extremely hot ( many days of over 100 degrees this month) so many of us who have homes and ovens are not wanting to do much baking but fall is just around the corner. At least that is what I am trying to tell myself....we still have August to get through...ugg!!
Also we find that there has been a need to give easy gluten free snack things like bars, cookies, chips and nuts to volunteers who have been working long hours in the tornado area helping people clear their lots and such. Many churches and service organizations are still giving meals to volunteers but those that have Celiac disease or are gluten intolerant are out of luck for that kind of thing.
I am seeing through all this that the Celiac community is a very generous people giving both donations of gf food and also giving of their time and energy to help others. I hope this clears up some things. Stay Cool! Rita G

Today's update sounds much like that of last Friday but today I did pretty much the same as last week. My husband, who lost his job as the store he worked for was totally destroyed by the tornado on May 22nd has begun a temporary job so I only have a car on certain days. There have not been many come to the house this week for gluten free food but there are a number in the community that are making use of the gluten free pantry that we have set up in Mission Joplin. I took a number of boxes of food in there today. The shelves were pretty well picked over. I spent some time rearranging the shelves and filling in all the blank spots. A very nice volunteer helped me with it.She said her sister is a Celiac and so she realizes the importance of having this food available.
I feel like I have been doing a lot of thank you's lately but I am going to thank those who have sent gluten free food to those in our city again. There are now stores in Joplin that sell gluten free food that are open again although we are still missing a Wal-Mart, a Dillons and an Aldis. (all will be rebuilding) And of course most of the people who lost their homes and jobs still do not have them restored yet. so these supplies that you have all sent are still needed.

I also took a box of food to the Lutheran pastor who is Celiac and whose church is one of the main centers for workers in the tornado ravaged area as I have been told he is working long hours and is unable to eat much of what the church is fixing as meals for workers and victims. And I also took a box of gf snack foods for the family the is gluten intolerant and is working every day at Mission Joplin.
My plan is to contact the Celiacs and gluten intolerant who we have already helped and ask them if they would like to come by again as I am assuming some may be running short by now. God bless you all and have a wonderful weekend.

Young survivors of Joplin tornado face a long journey - KansasCity.com

Young survivors of Joplin tornado face a long journey - KansasCity.com

Friday News

Was up bright and early this morning packing the car with gluten free deliveries. Took food to Mission Joplin to fill out the racks of gluten free food. They have decided to move the shelves again and they had made some new signs to notify folks that this food was for the Celiacs and gluten intolerant people who need it. I got a few cases of some nut and honey bars so will take some of those by there next week too and check out the new location. I think it will be back in the original location. We will see.
I also took a box of food to a family who are gluten intolerant and are working very hard to help the community. Then I swung by another church that is doing a great deal to help the community get through the difficult time with a box of gluten free food for their Celiac Pastor who has been working long hard hours to serve folks in Joplin that are in difficulty.
Thanks so much to all you who are sending gluten free food. We will continue to do all that we can to get it to those Celiacs and gluten intolerant folks and families that need it for as long as we have food. My how generous Celiacs and the vendors who sell these products are.
Have a wonderful weekend...It's going to get really hot in Joplin...please keep the volunteers and workers in your prayers. They continue to help even when the temps are in the high 90's.

Joplin Tornado

This will be a short post but wanted you all to know that we are still up and running (well I am still not doing too much running, but am on the mend) and we had two boxes of food delivered today. Mother Mary's Restaurant in Springfield was was taking donations for Joplin Celiac's and they delivered them today and also a nice large box from Amazon...With those there is no name included but I was told to expect a donation from a certain person and I believe that was it. Anyway people are still thinking of those here in Joplin area. I talked to Misty at Mission Joplin and I think they have decided that it would be better to put our shelves of gluten free food back out in the area we first set them up. I will take some boxes to them on Friday. Hope you all had a good Wednesday.

So sorry dear friends to not have posted recently I am in the midst of a severe kidney infection and have been so miserable. I spent 7 hour at the Emergency room last night.. Just took my first antibiotic and hope to be back to normal in a few days. Hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July....Happy Birthday America!!

RIP JOPLIN MISSOURI MAY 22 2011 Tornado

Good Morning!
Just to keep you a bit up to date, we have had several families who were affected by the tornado come by for gluten free food. I am really realizing the scope of how this disease runs in families. I had always hear it was about 10-15 percent of family members with Celiacs but the majority of the people that I have given out food to on behalf of the generous folks that have donated gluten free food to Joplin have a parent and at least one child and in one case three children and a parent who are Celiacs or gluten intolerant. I am wondering what is the experience of the folks who are reading this blog? Are you seeing a single person with Celiacs or are you seeing that several people in the family have it?
I have not been in to the Mission Joplin yet this week but will get food to them in the next couple of days.
A friend and I went to coffee yesterday with a couple other friends and we drove down 26th street (along the path of the tornado). The desolation is still massive of course, but you see where a tremendous amount of work has been done to clear the debris. But it is so very hard to see how they could possibly meet the deadline. Our city manager said a couple of days ago on the 1 month anniversary of the storm, that 25% of the debris had been removed. We must have it removed by August 7th. That is not much time for all this "huge" mess that just goes on and on for miles.

I also stopped at a Lutheran Church in the south end of Joplin that I had passed many times, noticing that they were doing quite a few things for the community. They are feeding people, they had truckloads of mattresses they were giving to people whose homes and possessions were demolished and they have a medical clinic with nurses and doctors to treat people who were hurt in the tornado and also those who get hurt while working in the Tornado ravished areas. They were very nice when I mentioned that we had a Celiac Support group and we had gluten free food to donate if they needed it. I had put a small box of mixed items in my car in case there was anyone there that needed it. They also all knew what I was talking about as it turns out their pastor is Celiac. He has been having a a difficult time as he is working such long hours ministering to tornado victims and cannot eat most of the food that is prepared for workers and victims. I gave them what i had with me and will take some more up there soon. They said they have had several asking for gluten free food. I was very happy to be able to get the donations to folks who are in need because of this devastating tornado.

Well this morning I set out with some boxes of a variety of gluten free food in my car to restock the gf food pantry at Mission Joplin (a ministry of forest Park Baptist Church)I was surprised to find that they had moved it to a different area. I spoke to several of the volunteers there and they are all gluten free savvy and definitely are only giving that food to those people that need gluten free. They are getting coolers in the room where our food is and so if we need to keep something cooler we would be able to store that there. I was also surprised to see that about half the food had been used. They said they have had several families who have needed gluten free. So we filled in the gaps with a variety of foods that generous people and groups had sent.

Tomorrow I am expecting two Celiac ladies to come by for food. And if i can get it all scheduled in I will make sure the gluten free shelves at the Mission Joplin are stocked. I am feeling better but still limping and walking with a cane but I know of two other churches that are doing a big work to folks in the community and I will try to get to those and see if they have had requests for gluten free food. Mike (my husband) made me some cards today so I can leave them a few of those to give to people they may come across that will need gluten free food. The FEMA trailers and modular homes are beginning to come in so I will do some phone work to investigate that avenue to reach the gluten intolerant next week.

As some of you know Mike's place of work was lost in the storm and they are not rebuilding at least right away but he will be starting a temporary job related to tornado recovery so he will have the car after next week. I will have to do more by phone. And we have a couple of our people in our Celiac support group who have offered to help if I need it. I will probably need it. For now our supplies are ok but I will put the word out on this blog if we have needs that can't be met with what we have or what is still coming in. We got some boxes of food today from the gluten intolerant support group in SE Iowa. We have had several support groups that have sent food...SanDiego, Ca, Ohio, and Alabama. Also CSA sent a box or two and CDFA sent food. So sorry if I did not mention your group I am just typing this off the top of my head and my memory is not the greatest. These of course are in addition to a number of vendors and several individuals. I should not have begun naming folks without my lists...I am going to get myself in trouble. :~ good night all