BOSTON (WHDH) - An incurable allergy is changing the menu on Martha’s Vineyard.
Tick-borne diseases have been a longtime problem on the Vineyard. That issue has exploded in recent years with the spread of alpha-gal syndrome.
It’s everywhere, we all know someone, a wife a daughter a friend, we all know someone with it,” Jennifer Lorusso said, Owner of Chilmark General Store. “It’s just part of our basic customer base that lives here”
Alpha-gal syndrome comes from the bite of a lone-star tick. It gives the victim a serious allergy to red meat and other animal products like dairy, changing the way they live their lives.
“We’re starting to see changes in the way people engage with the outdoors,” Virginia Barbatti said, Tick Free Martha’s Vineyard. “It really shifts what it means to go on a walk through the woods.”
More people bitten and diagnosed with the food allergy, the more restaurants have adjusted their menus to meet the community’s needs.
“We created a separate menu that is alpha-gal friendly so it packages it all together for someone,” Lorusso said. “So that they can enjoy really anything from our menu from pizza to an egg sandwich to many prepared foods.”
A non-profit organization is now finding solutions that stretch beyond the backyard to fix the issue island-wide. Tick-Free Martha’s Vineyard says that to get rid of the lone-star ticks, they’re researching the deer that carry them.
“We have on the island the highest deer population density in the state,” Barbatti said. “It does create an environment in which deer are able to proliferate.”
While kitchens are being more considerate about what they cook up, experts are coming together to fix the problem once and for all.
“We’re finding ways to meet the needs of the people here on the island, but we’re also not accepting this,” Barbatti said. “Real actions are underway to change the situations that we’re in.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)