Community Survey Results Are In
320 members of the Equal Eats community shared their experiences with dietary restrictions. The results show just how much still needs to change.
First, thank you.
Exactly 320 of you took the time to share your experiences with dietary restrictions, at restaurants, while travelling, and in everyday life.
We asked because we wanted a clearer picture of where things stand today for our customers and community. We hear individual stories all the time from people navigating food allergies, celiac disease, intolerances, and other dietary needs. We know there are gaps. We know dining out and travelling are not always as easy, safe, or enjoyable as they should be.
But seeing the responses come together in one place made something very clear.
There is still a lot of work to do.
Why we launched this survey
At Equal Eats, we have spent the last 20 years helping people communicate their dietary restrictions more clearly around the world.
For many of us, that communication is not optional. It is part of how we eat safely, travel confidently, and participate in everyday experiences that others may take for granted.
But communication is only one piece of a much bigger picture.
We wanted to better understand what our community is experiencing right now. Not just whether people are carrying allergy translation cards or preparing before travel, but how they are actually being treated, heard, understood, and accommodated in real-life situations.
We wanted to ask questions like:
Are people with dietary restrictions being treated fairly when dining out?
Do restaurants understand the seriousness of allergies, celiac disease, and other dietary needs?
Do people feel confident eating away from home?
Are people still missing out on experiences because of food-related barriers?
The responses gave us a lot to think about.
What the early results show
The survey results point to a common theme: many people in our community are still facing significant challenges.
These numbers are not where they should be
I really wish these results were different.
Personally, I have been living with multiple food allergies for more than 40 years, and I am starting to feel frustrated that we collectively still face so many of the same challenges.
There has been progress. Awareness is better than it used to be. More restaurants are familiar with allergies and special diets. More products are labelled. More people understand that dietary restrictions are not preferences or trends.
But the results of this survey show that progress has not been enough.
Too many people still feel misunderstood.
Too many people still feel like they have to over-explain themselves.
Too many people still feel nervous when ordering food.
Too many people still feel like they are asking for something unreasonable, when all they are really asking for is to eat safely and be included.
These numbers are not where they should be.
Why this matters to Equal Eats
For 20 years, Equal Eats has been fortunate to connect with people navigating food allergies, celiac disease, intolerances, and other dietary restrictions around the world.
That puts us in a unique position.
We have a large community. We hear the challenges. We see where the gaps are. And we believe we can use that collective voice to start making things better.
Our work began with translation cards, and those cards will always be an important part of what we do. Clear communication matters. Having the right words in the right language can make a huge difference when you are ordering food at home or abroad.
But this survey has reinforced something important.
We do not simply want to help people explain the problem. We want to help work toward practical solutions.
What comes next
Over the coming weeks, we are going to share more of what we learned from the survey.
We will be looking more closely at the results, highlighting key themes, and exploring where the biggest gaps seem to be. We will also be sharing some ideas we have been working on and ways our community can help shape what comes next.
That may include more education, more advocacy, more resources for restaurants and food service, and more ways to bring the voices of people with dietary restrictions into the conversation.
We do not have all the answers yet. But we do know this:
We cannot let data like this remain this skewed.
If so many people in our community are telling us that dining out, travelling, and navigating everyday food situations still feel harder than they should, then we need to listen.
And then we need to act.
Thank you for sharing your voice
To everyone who completed the survey, thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. Thank you for being honest about the challenges. Thank you for helping us better understand where things stand today.
Your responses matter.
They will help guide the conversations we have next, the resources we create, and the ways we try to support this community beyond translation cards.
This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a much bigger conversation.
Stay tuned.
We have work to do, and we are ready to get started.
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