South West mum fed up with gluten, dairy-free battle set to open new allergy aware store in Bunbury

A South West mum who is fed up with the battle to find healthy gluten and dairy-free options for her allergic children is on a mission to help herself and other families.

After years of struggling to find foods her two children can comfortably stomach, Bunbury mother of two Natasha Hilbers is now working to create a brand new grocery store with intolerances in mind.

Her two children live with eosinophilic esophagitis — a complex condition which inflames the esophagus and is caused by a specific white blood cell, the eosinophil.

The disease can be triggered by eggs, milk and other dairy products, wheat products which contain gluten, legumes and seafood.

With EoE awareness week running from August 4-10, Ms Hilbers — who runs the online store Zero G Gluten Free — said it was the perfect time for struggling families to band together for a change.

“My son and daughter have EoE and it can be confused for Crohn’s or for celiac, but it can also lead to or be part of those conditions as well,” she said.

“There’s a lot of grey area and that’s why they’re calling for a lot of research and for people to be diagnosed.

“We need to now go down that path of looking at EoE and advocating for the wellness of your child.

Mrs Hilbers told the Times that being diagnosed with the problem was not the end of the struggle with suitable healthy foods hard to come by, expensive or not readily available in most supermarkets.

This inspired her to do something about it.

“In the South West there’s not a great deal of good gluten-free options,” she said.

“I need to set aside hours a week to walk down the aisle at Coles or Woolworths to find the gluten-free products, because they’re not all in one aisle.

“I have given feedback to many food outlets but have made no progress, so I thought if I know someone that has a medical condition, that was really where I want to be of service.”

Three months ago, Mrs Hilbers started her business Zero G Gluten Free as an online platform to sell food products and teach others about healthy and more affordable options for people with allergies.

Mrs Hilbers said the response to her initiative had been huge, leading to a plan for a store at Fuller Co Op in Bunbury.

She told the Times it couldn’t come fast enough for fed-up families.

“I’m having five messages or more a day on social media for Zero G Gluten Free and that’s solely been from word of mouth in town,” she said.

“It’s just been overwhelming and I’ve been at Fuller Co-op doing measurements and trying to make sure I can fit everything into my tiny little 53sqm.”

Mrs Hilbers hopes to open her first store at Fuller Co-Op on August 29.