I am often asked about what motivated me to transform my diet and inspired me to develop a business that creates gourmet, gluten free foods. I am honored to have the opportunity to share my story:

I spent several years searching for answers as to why I constantly felt fatigued, experienced gastro distress, and had skin rashes erupt without any obvious reasons. All of these symptoms caused great anxiety and stress. At the time, I thought that perhaps the symptoms were directly related to being the single mom of three children and working to be the crusader of the family. During these years, I felt like I was on an out of control roller coaster. If someone would have even whispered the word "gluten" as the possible villain, I would have immediately embraced the possibility and removed all traces of gluten from my diet - period! However, it was several years until I stumbled upon the fact that gluten was the root of my problems. This revelation occurred to me when I was in the planning stages of opening American Gra-Frutti. It was then that I decided we would be gluten free!

While starting this business in 2007, I quickly discovered through my endeavors and the tales of acquaintances, that many people with gluten intolerances experience debilitating symptoms when gluten enters their body.  For the 1 in 133 people who are estimated to have Celiac Disease exposure to gluten is a life threatening event. My passion to create a gluten free bakery escalated from 0 - 60 with this knowledge and understanding. I was on a mission. The work began to convert all of our recipes to gluten free. Our intention was to make our foods safe for people with all levels of gluten intolerance to eat and to ensure that the resulting foods were so delicious everyone would enjoy them. After renting shared kitchen space in the evenings to get a start, I was able to secure my own commercial space. Our current bake house is a dedicated gluten free facility.

American Gra-Frutti is built on the mission to provide "good food for good reasons." We are passionately devoted to creating decadent, nutritious, and healthy foods that are safe for people with gluten and dairy intolerances. We are building a gratifying relationship with the Celiac Society and the autistic population.

Marilyn Santulli

Owner and Chief Creative Officer

American Gra-Frutti - All Gourmet! All Gluten Free!^™