A new program is making it easier to get free birthday food.
It’s called the Gluten Free Meal Program and it’s designed to help Canadians celebrate their birthday without feeling like a failure.
It allows them to get a free birthday meal.
But don’t worry, they’re not being forced to order a fancy plate of chocolate cake.
Instead, they can enjoy a meal from their local grocery store, complete with a few of their favourite dishes.
“The meals are really good,” said Lisa Jankowiak, one of the founders of the GlengoFree.ca website.
“We don’t know if we’re going to be able to go out and get a nice steak dinner for our daughter because they’re going out and getting free birthday dinner, but we’re hoping it’s going to happen and hopefully, we’ll be able find a meal that we can enjoy.”
Jankowik is one of dozens of Canadians who have signed up for the program, which launched this month.
Janko has been a food blogger for nearly two decades and is one who’s had the most success with the program.
She says she had the chance to see firsthand what it’s like to celebrate her birthday without having to worry about a fancy meal.
“When you have a family that’s not going to work or that doesn’t have money, and you don’t have a home, and when you don [have] time for dinner and you can’t eat, and then you’re just going to go and eat what you want to eat, then you kind of feel like a failures,” she said.
“And that’s kind of where we’re coming from.
And we want to get there so that we don’t feel like that anymore.”
Jakowiak says there are a number of factors behind why people choose to participate in the program and that includes their age, their job, and the type of meal they’d like to have.
Jainna Srivastava, who has been an active participant in the GlengeoFree program for the past two years, says it’s a safe option for many people.
“I think that when you look at it as a food safety measure, it’s actually a really good thing.
And I think that we’ve seen that there have been a lot of positive outcomes from the program,” she told CBC News.”
For example, it has reduced hospitalizations and a lot less stress related hospitalizations, and it has resulted in a lot more healthy people getting the birthday meal.”
Jinko Lippman is another participant in Jankows program.
Lippmans daughter, Makenzie, is a 13-year-old from Winnipeg.
She also enjoys having birthday dinners.
“It’s a great way to get together and celebrate a birthday and get together with your family and go to a restaurant for dinner,” she explained.
Lippman says she is surprised at how many people have signed on for the GlendogoFree.com program.
“A lot of people that I’ve seen actually have friends or family members that have been using it and have been able to eat at a restaurant,” she added.
“So it’s definitely a lot easier to do for them to participate.”
Junko Kavulich, another participant, says that the program has made it easier for people to celebrate their holidays without feeling guilty about eating at a local restaurant.
“What we’ve found is that the majority of people really appreciate it.
People actually enjoy it and it really helps them relax and feel good about themselves and their family,” he said.”
There’s a lot fewer people that don’t really enjoy eating at restaurants and that’s something we’re really excited about, so we’re happy that people are enjoying it and we’re also excited about the program.”
Kavulis family is also excited to see the program going global.
His mom is a chef and he enjoys the idea of sharing the same food with his family.
“We want to be a family where the kids can enjoy food from all over the world and we want the kids to have a great time and we know that the kids will appreciate that,” he added.