This post describes how to set up a Celiac Safe Eats city group. (Facebook has resources for using your account to create a group, so I won’t duplicate that information here.) Creating consistent groups will help people quickly find information about where to eat safely, regardless of the city they choose.

First step: Create a Facebook group.

Use Celiac Safe Eats – Your City Name as the name of your group; for example, Celiac Safe Eats – Seattle or Celiac Safe Eats – New York. Invite one or more people to the group. (This appears to be required.) Make the group Public. You can add the group to your Favorites list, if you want.

Second step: Customize group settings.

Upload a photo.

For my cover photos, I use a photo of the city with the city name in a contrasting color. (Please contact me if you want more information about how I created my city group cover photos.) I use photos I have taken or ones purchased from iStockPhoto. The important thing is that if you choose a photo, it is one you are permitted to use.

Add a description.
Feel free to use the description in this post, or one of your own.

Set up a custom web address.
In the Group settings (select from the […] menu to the right of √Notifications on the cover photo), click Edit Group Settings, scroll down and click the Customize Address button. Next, create a custom name using the following format:  {NewCityName}CeliacSafeEats (no space). For example, the Seattle custom URL is SeattleCeliacSafeEats. Once you enter the name, it cannot be changed so be mindful as you type.

Other group settings
I have been using the Custom group type, choosing Any member can add or approve members for membership approval, and using Members and admins can post to the group.

Save your group settings.

Important! Be sure to customize the group name to this format: CityNameCeliacSafeEats (no spaces).

Third step: Add a place to eat.

You can leave the group empty and wait for someone to add a restaurant, but chances are you have at least one place you want to add.

Fourth step: Send new group address to Celiac Safe Eats.

After you have created a new group, send me the Facebook link (copy the URL from the browser) and I will add it to the cities at CeliacSafeEats.com.

Fifth step: Manage your group posts.

Sometimes you may want to reword a post or add information. Or you may not like the fact that every time you change a setting in your group, Facebook creates a post. Use the down arrow in the upper right corner of each post to edit, hide, or delete the post. If you want one post to “stick” at the top of the discussion, you can also pin that post.

Thank you!

Thank you for contributing to our list of Celiac Safe Eats cities!