December 8th, 2021 - The Dr. Schär Institute Award grants $10,000 to a registered dietitian (or group of registered dietitians) to develop a project designed to bring their local community together through food and nutrition education. This year, we’re excited to announce the grant will support a program led by Boston Children’s Hospital: A Cooking-Based Intervention for Food Insecure Families with Celiac Disease to Improve Access to Food, Quality of Life, and Gluten-Free Dietary Adherence.
To help address the issue of food insecurity in the Boston Metro Area, Boston Children’s Hospital is opening a food pantry in December 2021. The site will also offer gluten-free food boxes to families who are struggling with food insecurity and with celiac disease. Food pantries offer limited gluten-free options, leaving families of children with celiac disease to shoulder the significant economic burden related to purchasing gluten-free foods. State and federal assistance programs do not factor in the increased costs of gluten-free foods when setting benefit limits and free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs that offer food to children at school do not adequately reimburse schools for the increased cost of gluten-free food. This means many families are unable to access federal assistance programs that are designed to feed some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.
The Dr. Schär Institute Award will complement the food pantry by offering monthly nutrition education and cooking classes tailored to meet the needs of food insecure families.
Culinary education sessions will provide recipes and cooking tips that incorporate ingredients provided to families in weekly food boxes. Classes, recipes, and educational materials will be provided in English and Spanish, reflecting the cultural diversity within the celiac community treated at Boston Children’s. Assessment criteria for the program center on the feasibility and acceptability of the nutrition education intervention to promote dietary adherence and improve quality of life among food insecure families with a child with celiac disease.
“Our Celiac Program team is incredibly grateful for the support of Dr. Schär that will allow us to build a comprehensive program to support food insecure families living with celiac disease,”
“For patients living with celiac disease, food is their medicine. We will not only provide the families with gluten-free foods, but also teach them new and innovative ways to use the ingredients to make delicious home-cooked meals.
The team at Dr. Schär will offer their expertise in gluten-free nutrition to support this research. Recipes for the cooking classes will be developed in partnership with Dr. Schär culinary experts and will incorporate Dr. Schär gluten-free products (which Dr. Schär is proud to be donating to the food pantry program). When possible, virtual cooking classes will be filmed in the Dr. Schär demonstration kitchen in collaboration with Dr. Schär dietitians. Upon research completion, targeted for July of 2022, Dr. Schär will support dissemination and publication of findings to build national awareness of the issues related to gluten-free food access and to advocate for increased federal food assistance programs for families with celiac disease.
The team will be led by Sharon Weston, MS RD LDN. Team partners will include Vanessa Weisbrod, a chef, educator, and holistic nutritionist; Dr. Dascha Weir, clinical director; and Janis Arnold, Celiac Program social worker.
About the team
- Sharon Weston MS, RDN, LDN is a Senior Clinical Nutrition Specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital and has been a pediatric dietitian for 30 years. She specializes in Celiac Disease, Type 1 and 2 Diabetes, and is the Lead Dietitian for the Optimal Wellness for Life Clinic. Sharon is dedicated to working with families living with both celiac disease and type 1 diabetes as well as those also managing obesity. Additionally, she holds a Certificate of Training in Culinary Nutrition.
- Dascha C. Weir, MD is the clinical director of the Celiac Disease Program at Boston Children's Hospital and serves as the medical advisor of Celiac Kids Connection. Originally a Boston area native, she attended Dartmouth College and graduated with a BA in History in 1995. She subsequently graduated from Case Western School of Medicine in 2000. She returned to Boston and completed her internship and residency in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. After finishing her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, she joined the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition there and is involved both in clinical care and celiac related clinical research. She is on the executive committee of the Harvard Medical School Celiac Research Program.
- Vanessa Weisbrod, BA, CA, CHN is the Director of the Boston Children’s Hospital Celiac Disease Program where she works to build a robust community engagement and education program. Vanessa holds degrees in culinary arts and holistic nutrition, as well as healthcare journalism. She sits on the executive committee of the Harvard Medical School Celiac Research Program and the board of the Celiac Kids Connection. She has authored four gluten-free cookbooks and led the effort to create national recommendations for managing children with celiac disease in learning environments and research looking at cross contact with gluten in shared kitchens and schools.
- Janis Arnold, MSW, LICSW is the licensed clinical social worker for the Boston Children’s Hospital Celiac Disease Program. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Chicago. In 2004, Janis began working as a clinical social worker and mental health clinician in the Celiac Disease Program to provide psychosocial support to families at Boston Children's Hospital.