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NFCA Partners with USA Weekend for "Make a Difference Day"
Five Initiatives take place nationwide to promote Celiac Awareness

WASHINGTON, October 8, 2007 – The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
(NFCA) has partnered with USA Weekend to launch five celiac disease
awareness initiatives as part of Make a Difference Day 2007, the largest
national day of community service. On Saturday October 27, NFCA will sponsor
and take part in activities aimed at driving diagnosis of celiac disease and
improving the quality of life for those who suffer from the disease.

An estimated three million Americans have celiac disease, but less than
100,000 are accurately diagnosed. The only treatment is a gluten-free diet,
which means eliminating wheat, barley and rye.

Raising awareness of the disease on Make a Difference Day will educate
medical professionals including physicians, nurses, pharmacists and
dietitians, as well as the general public, hopefully leading an increase in
accurate celiac diagnoses.

NFCA has formed strategic partners with the following organizations:
Wegman's, ShopRite, Whole Foods, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the
American Society of Health System Pharmacists to conduct these initiatives.
The projects are as follows:

1.    Wegman's—a regional supermarket chain and one of the largest private
corporations in the United States—has galvanized 71 of their stores to
action. They have ordered 100,000 NFCA brochures. All of the retail
locations will display "Do I Have Celiac" brochures at pharmacy and
nutrition counters and gluten-free products will be sampled in the Natures'
Marketplace within the stores.  Dieticians will be available in 25 stores to
provide detailed information on celiac and answer questions customers may
have. In addition, Wegman's is currently developing a newsletter dedicated
to celiac disease information that will be distributed through Wegman's
national listserv. Lastly, Wegman's pharmacists will be educated about
gluten in medication through materials developed in by the NFCA and the
American Society of Health System Pharmacists.

2.    The American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) has been a
close partner of NFCA in working to improve the information available to
pharmacists and consumers about gluten in medication. On Make a Difference
Day, ASHP will make available on its website an informational document to
teach in-hospital pharmacists about celiac disease and gluten in
medications. There are currently no legal requirements for the labeling of
gluten in medications, making this a major step toward educating pharmacists
to protect patients in hospitals with celiac disease who require medication
to treat an illness.

3.    ShopRite, a grocery store cooperative based in New Jersey but with
stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, will display "Do I Have Celiac"
brochures at their 43 locations.

4.    Whole Foods, an international grocery chain, will distribute "Do I
Have Celiac" Brochures at select locations, educating patrons on celiac
disease.

5.    NFCA's own gluten-free, allergy-free cooking show, "Alternative
Appetites" will debut a video podcast on the Celiaccentral.org website that
will help people with celiac and other food allergies learn to cook and cope
with their special dietary requirements. Members of the production team will
also be stationed in grocery stores to talk about the disease and answer
questions.


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The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to finding a cure for Celiac Disease. NFCA, a
national organization, is affiliated with the leading researchers in the US
who are working toward this goal.

* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC