Gluten-free, peanut-free and dairy-free diets are somewhat common today. People and corporations are aware of these dietary restrictions, but it doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to avoid all of those unwanted (or dangerous) ingredient lists in packaged foods. When those allergies or reactions can be life-threatening, the effort involved in avoiding them is not important, it’s absolutely necessary.
You may have heard of Peapod, the home delivery service that is used by Stop and Shop and Giant in select areas. What you may not know is that using the Peapod site, whether or not you choose to use the delivery option, can help you find products which meet your special diets. I recently found out more about ways to use the service and the website to meet your family’s needs at a luncheon sponsored by Stop and Shop/Giant stores.
I’m sure that if you or your child have to deal with life-altering allergies or food restrictions, you have become quite a label reader. I know that you wouldn’t let software select products for you, but imagine how much easier it would be to print out the accepted brands and products sorted by Gluten-Free or Peanut-Free, and then do some quick checking when you get to the store, instead of having to stand and read while you are there.
Using the “NutriFilter” feature on the Peapod allows you to sort by Gluten-Free, Peanut-Free, but also using the Weight Watchers plan, or the USDA recommendations for low-fat, good fiber, or low-sodium. NutriFilter will use whatever criteria you select to sort the items by category with those meeting your specifications at the top of the list. You can even select a cute icon for the plan. So, for example, if your soccer-loving son Joe is allergic to peanuts, those items that are peanut-free can be marked with a soccer ball.
The other great feature on Peapod is the “personal circular.” You can use it to highlight items that are on sale that you have purchased in the past (based on the records kept by using the store savings card). That way you can maximize your grocery budget for that week.
How can grocery stores show you that they care about meeting the needs of people who adhere to special diets–by choice or medical necessity?
Jennifer Donovan is Managing Editor of 5 Minutes for Books and a Contributing Editor at 5 Minutes for Mom. She blogs about her life and loves at Snapshot.
Read all of the other posts in this series on food for your family and grocery shopping featured on our sister sites today:
Save Money (and enter to win) at 5 Minutes for Mom
Save Money and the Earth at 5 Minutes for Going Green
Stay Sane at the Supermarket at 5 Minutes for Parenting
Kids in the Kitchen at 5 Minutes for Books