Emine and Yusuf Altay The couple had a son born in 1999. Enesto when he was just 1 year old wheat, barley, rye, oats After being diagnosed with celiac disease, which is a malabsorption disease that develops due to sensitivity to gluten found in grains such as grains, he began to research how to combat this disease.
The couple, who started eating gluten-free foods with the guidance of their family doctors, founded the Bursa Celiac Life Association in 2010 with the participation of the celiac patients they met and their families.
celiac The couple, who set out to financially support patients and their families and facilitate their access to gluten-free foods, started their business in 2018. Merino ParkHe opened a cafe in .
Celiac patients who come to the cafe can eat the food they want without the risk of cross-contamination, and they can shop for their homes from the market section.
Association President Yusuf Altay said that it was very difficult for his son to struggle with this disease, which was not well known during his childhood.
Altai“During the process, we started to meet different families and stakeholders. With those meetings, different formations, programs and events, we established our association with families. We have accomplished great work since then and we continue.” said.
“We have come to the point of producing all the products that the soul demands”
Emphasizing that nutrition should be present at every moment of human life, Altay explained that celiac patients are obliged to eat gluten-free for life.
Altay stated that there were difficulties with gluten-free products both economically and in terms of accessibility, and that this significantly affected their social lives, and continued his words as follows:
“It’s not something you can say, ‘Let’s get a bagel from here,’ when you’re hungry. Naturally, everything has to be special. Everything has to be done carefully, through a production process that avoids the risk of cross-contamination, and you have to make it available to your child or to the individual for their own use. We tried it for 4 years. “We opened the cafe in 2018 with the allocations of our Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. We have improved ourselves since then. Currently, we can produce everything that our celiac individuals demand, from bread to bagels, from pastries to ravioli, from desserts to baklava.”
AltaiHe stated that the social facility in the cafe is open to the public, people socialize in this area and thus celiac awareness increases.
Emine Altay, one of the founders of the association and the manager of the cafe business, stated that they considered it a great chance that their son was diagnosed early.
Pointing out that individuals with celiac disease may experience various complications if they do not follow a gluten-free diet, Altay said, “We were diagnosed at the age of 1, but we had a difficult process for 7-8 months before that. He survived 2 episodes of toxic diarrhea. We started his diet when he was 13 months old. Enes has continued his diet for 24 years.” “If people with celiac disease cannot adapt to their diet after being diagnosed, the disease continues.” he said.
Nurevşan Karaağaç, the coordinator of the association, stated that there is a workshop, kitchen and market inside the cafe, and that they help celiacs to access all kinds of food.