National Celiac Association San Diego is a proud chapter of the National Celiac Association.
Our support group plans educational events throughout San Diego for adults and children with celiac disease or gluten related disorders. All of our events are open to the public. ​

In Case You Missed It:
More than Celiac Disease:
Managing Multiple Autoimmune Conditions
​Managing celiac disease presents unique medical, emotional and social challenges; having more than one autoimmune disease in an individual or family requires additional coping skills.
Join Dr. Edwin Liu, Director of the Colorado Center for Celiac Disease, and Janis Arnold, MSW, LICSW, licensed social worker at Boston Children’s Hospital for a compelling session on science and social support.
All previously archived NCA Webinars are available HERE
Look for upcoming webinars in March, April, and May. Specific dates will be posted here soon.
 Many thanks to Potapas gluten-free tortilla company for your generous donation to help the gluten-free community in San Diego.
www.potapas.com
 Virtual NCA San Diego Support Group Meeting with Expert Celiac Dietitian, Melinda Dennis - Watch Now!
Melinda Dennis, MS, RDN, LD, is the Nutrition Coordinator for the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Diagnosed with celiac disease 30 years ago, Ms. Dennis specializes in the nutritional treatment of patients with gluten-related disorders.  She lectures nationally and is Program Director of the nutrition and medical website: CeliacNow.org. Melinda served on the Executive Council of the Society for the Study of Celiac Disease (SSCD) and is currently a taskforce member of the SSCD’s Patient Resources and Literature Committee and of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic’s practice group, Dietitians in Medical Nutrition Therapy. She is co-author of the book Real Life with Celiac Disease, published by the AGA. She is Founder, former Chair, and current Senior Nutrition Advisor to the National Celiac Association and serves on the Executive Committees of the Celiac Research Program at Harvard Medical School and of Foodicine Health. Through her consulting business, Delete the Wheat, LLC., she offers educational webinars,  gluten-free wellness retreats, and consulting assistance to food and pharmaceutical companies.
Covid-19 Update Related to Celiac Disease: 
​
If you know of someone in San Diego experiencing food insecurities who must eat gluten-free, there are 3 San Diego non-profit food pantries:
1) Community Resource Center Food Pantry (Encinitas)
10-15% of their population states they need GF food for medical reasons.
Contact: Yanira Frias
Website: https://crcncc.org/food-nutrition-services/

2) La Maestra Community Health Center & Food Pantry
Contact: Robert Marquez
Email: rmarquez@lamaestra.org
Website: https://www.lamaestra.org/food-pantry/default.html

3) People Assisting the Homeless -PATH
They have at least 50 people who need GF food for medical reasons.
Contact: Sigrid Struben
Email: SigridS@epath.org
Website: https://www.epath.org/

These groups make or try to make gluten-free food available to the people they serve.  They do need GF food donations, so we're including links to their website if you'd like to send them GF food or a donation.

More Related to Covid-19:
Another recent article on celiac disease and Covid-19: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/covid-19-and-celiac-disease#outlook
Upon receiving an increase in requests for GF food assistance and uncovering an extreme lack of gluten-free (GF) food in many food pantries across the US, NCA launched Feeding Gluten-Free. The goal of this initiative is to connect GF food companies to food pantries across the US. Click here to see some of the GF food NCA has helped distribute to area food pantries so far.  
​This is a massive undertaking, and NCA can’t succeed without your help. Together, let's move the needle to provide much needed GF food for our struggling celiac community. Please consider a generous donation so together we can deliver GF food to those who need it the most.  If you are able to contribute financially to this effort, please visit https://nationalceliac.org/giving-gluten-free/. If you are a manufacturer and can donate food, please contact Carla Carter at carla@nationalceliac.org. Thank you!
Looking for support group meetings and related events closer to Orange County in 2020? Check out our sister chapter in Orange County, ​also a chapter of the National Celiac Association at http://www.occeliacs.com/events.html
Many events which require procuring food require an RSVP in advance to attend.  Children are always welcome to attend any event with a parent. Please note that we do not provide child care.