NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. - As panic buying continues across the country, families who have food allergies and dietary restrictions are struggling to find what they need.
"my son is a celiac and he's also a type 1 diabetic, so we have some nutritional things we have to put into place on a daily basis," Nikkole Ferrone, a New Hartford resident said.
Celiac disease is an immune reaction to eating gluten.
"People react very differently to it, my son get sick, he throws up," Ferrone said. "We can't just grab whatever is available because he needs those special thing so we're running into a situation where it's not there, there's no gluten free, there's no anything.
With people clearing out grocery stores and just grabbing whatever is left, it's taking away from people who need specific things.
"For him it's an issue, he doens't have any of the things he wants or needs," Ferrone said.
Ferrone's whole family is gluten free to keep her son safe and avoid cross contamination. She says she knows other people in the community who are going through the same thing.
"I know I'm not the only one, there's people in the community who suffer from the same thing that I am and he is as well," Ferrone said. "I usually always have things on hand, he's a teenager we can't go without so we're doing okay right now but it's starting to make me a little nervous that I might not be able to find the things he needs."
Ferrone is trying not to panic and hopes that sharing her story is a reminder to be mindful.
"I think there's just so many of us in the community that have this issue and people aren't really taking the steps to think about people that have dietary restrictions and maybe we should think twice and we just all need to be together on this, and don't grab ten loafs of bread and don't grab all the gluten free bread and just think of other people."