Meetup? I'd Love To.

It can get a little lonely fending for your gluten-free self out in the world - and at the dinner table. While you can still go out to eat, it's tough not being able to taste and share with others. And if you're the only gf person at the table, the gluten-eater pity can be a bit of a downer.

Thankfully there's an easy way to connect with your fellow gf peeps and enjoy safe social eating with people who get it: Meetup groups for our people! There are currently a few dozen across the country; my local branch, The New York City Celiac Disease Meetup Group is the largest gluten-free Meetup in the world! The group plans outings to restaurants, lectures, sporting events, stores, food tastings, and more. (Upcoming events include a yoga class for celiacs with a post-om pizza party and Celiac Awareness Night with the Mets at Citi Field.)

If you don't live in NYC, the NYC group site can still be a great resource for medical, dietary, product, and venue information - and for planning your next trip to our fair city, of course! Don't have a celiac Meetup in your area? Anyone can start one (yes, I'm looking at you); it's low-cost ($12-$19 a month for the whole group, no matter how many members) and just takes a few keyboard clicks. Let the existing groups be a guide and set something up that will serve the community you're in.