Feeding the Flocks

[bjarvis]

We have a very pressing deadline to tell our convention hotel how many kosher meals we'll need for the banquet and brunch in April. Apparently, local suppliers have been closing due to the recession and the remaining suppliers are over-stressed, especially since our convention lands on passover.

While totalling up the necessary kosher meals (about 10), I looked into the various other dietary requirements for our registered attendees. Fully 10% of the registrants have dietary issues of some kind, about double what I would have predicted.


Allergic to bell peppers, cucumbers
allergic to dairy, caffeine
Allergic to mushrooms
Allergic to seafood
Allergic to shellfish
Allergic to tomatoes
gluten and dairy free
Gluten intolerant, sugar free
Gluten intolerant
Gluten intolerant
Gluten intolerant
lactose intolerant
lactose intolerant
lactose intolerant
lactose intolerant
lactose intolerant
low carb
low carb
low cholesterol
Low Fat
Low salt
Low Sodium
low sugar
No cashews, dairy
No cheese
No cheese
No cilantro
No coconut
No mushrooms
No mushrooms
no onion
no tuna
Non-dairy, no mammal, no fish
Not attending banquet
Organic, non-genetically altered, produce, grains, fish, fowl and meats.
Raw, living organic vegan
Sugar free dessert
Sugar free dessert
Sugar free dessert
Uncooked vegetarian/kosher
Vegan
vegan
Vegan
Vegan
Vegan


I would never make it in event management. I work in a commodity world: having to develop so many different customized meals for so many people would drive me nuts. I would have thrown up my arms long ago and let everyone fend for themselves as best they can because I can barely keep up with my own issues that I resist inheriting everyone else's. It's a good thing for everyone I work in another field.

Comments

[jss]

A now-deceased friend of mine was deathly allergic to mint in all its forms, including basil. Her wife (now widow) is allergic to onions and garlic. Another friend of mine is allergic to carrots. Anaphylaxis isn't funny, and your outright dismissal of uncommon allergies as "preferences, not restrictions" could kill several of my friends. I hope for your sake you never develop such a dietary restriction and then meet someone like you, so dismissive of others' concern.

That being said, it is indeed the responsibility of the allergic diner to ask about, and not the responsibility of the event planner to enforce, dietary restrictions.

[urbear]

You misunderstand me. I've been fortunate enough to avoid serious food disorders, but I'm very aware of them, and far from dismissive. My niece has a life-threatening peanut allergy, and a close cousin is gluten intolerant (she gets violently ill if she accidentally ingests even a small amount).

If someone is afflicted with a deadly food allergy, the appropriate entry would be something like "SEVERELY ALLERGIC TO XXX", maybe even with some emphasis like, "LIFE-THREATENING". Absent a clear warning, it's hard to tell the difference between people who have a genuine need and those who are just indulging themselves. People who enter simple preferences on a form like this are not unlike healthy drivers who park in a handicapped zone.