By Chloe Cramutola
Ava Southrey and Lucy Gaeckle are girl scouts on a mission: They want to show elementary schools why Food Allergy Awareness is important, and why it should be discussed in the classroom.
The two friends are creating a presentation and providing resources about food allergies for Galloway Township teachers. The girls’ first stop is at Reeds Road Elementary School on Jan. 15. They are also working toward their Girl Scout Silver Award, one of the highest honors for a Cadette.
Southrey and Gaeckle have been in the same girl scouts troop since kindergarten. They are now eighth-graders at Galloway Township Middle School.
Last spring, the girls launched their allergy awareness project because they both have siblings with food allergies.
Southrey’s brother, Brian Southrey, has an egg and peanut allergy. Gaeckle’s sister, Morgan Gaeckle, has celiac disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that reacts to gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and other grains.
Lucy Gaeckle said her family has two separate toasters because if they put gluten bread in a gluten-free toaster, they cannot use that toaster again. Her mother, Jessica Gaeckle, also went gluten-free with her daughter.
Before this project, Southrey earned her Bronze Award at 11 years old. She created “on-the-go” bags with essentials to help homeless individuals in Atlantic City. In 2022, Gaeckle earned her Bronze Award after she helped fix up the Galloway K9 memorial garden at Patriot Lake. Her father is also a retired Ventnor K9 officer.
“I’m proud of what we did,” Southrey said.
Now, the girls want to make another impact in the community, “to make sure everyone knows” about food allergies, they said.
“A lot of people just think of food allergy [as] they can’t have that food,” Gaeckle said. “There’s way more into it … Some kids can’t be near the food, or can’t touch the food.”
Southrey said she was surprised many people don’t know kids like her brother have egg allergies.
“There’s a lot of stuff with egg in it, so it’s important for people to really look at the details before giving a kid something [they might be allergic] to,” she said.
Her mother, Alexandra Southrey, said the four schools are eager to hear the girls’ presentation.
“It’s a testament to the Galloway school district as a whole, because the girls talked to many people, they’ve emailed each principal and the schools have been nothing but excited,” Alexandra Southrey said.
At Reeds Road, Gaeckle said she saw a bunch of kids who had to sit at a small peanut-allergy desk.
“I felt really bad, because what little kindergartner wants to sit by themselves during lunch?” she said. “I definitely would want to try to make it be inclusive.”
Southrey’s mom, a teacher at Smithville, said she is told how to keep kids safe, but she is not told to teach them Food Allergy Awareness.
“As far as the education piece behind it, that is really lacking,” she said. “I think the girls are doing a really good service because teachers are busy, the nurse is busy, and for them to have their presentation for teachers to read through or listen to and educate themselves is really helpful.”
This is why Gaeckle and Southrey are looking to donate allergy awareness books to four Galloway schools: Reeds Road, Smithville Elementary School, Rowland Elementary School and Arthur Rann Elementary School.
The girls created an Amazon Wishlist, and they asked the community to help donate titles. Their initial goal was 16 to 24 books. As of Jan. 7, they have received 28 donations – seven for each school.
Southrey’s mom said the girls cannot purchase anything themselves, so they must raise money for their project. They made a budget, planned it out and came up with a catchy title: “What’s in it? Food Allergy Awareness.”
“There was a lot they had to do that Jess and I were really hands-off,” Alexandra Southrey said. “Their leader guided them, but in preparation for the Gold Award, this is the next step [after] the Bronze Award.”
Southrey’s mom described the Gold Award as the equivalent to the boy scouts’ Eagle Scout Award. Both grant the highest-ranking honors, recognizing leadership, commitment and service to the community.
For now, Southrey and Gaeckle are looking to make an impact in Galloway with their Food Allergy Awareness project.
“We just want to make sure that kids with allergies have the same good experiences as other kids,” Southrey said.
Chloe is a multimedia editor and journalism major at Boston University, where she is Editor at The Daily Free Press. She will be graduating Spring ’25. Connect with her on LinkedIn @chloecramutola
