[Nfbf-l] News paper article on Sabrina

[Patricia A. Lipovsky]

Way to go Sabrina!!


Advocate hosts show about blindness, cooking  

By DEBORAH CIRCELLI 

STAFF WRITER 

deborah.circelli at news-jrnl.com

DAYTONA BEACH — A local advocate is making her national television debut on a new show that helps people who are blind or visually impaired with cooking
tips.

Sabrina Deaton, 35, of South Daytona co-hosts a couple of segments this coming week with a South Florida doctor discussing medical breakthroughs and research
dealing with macular degeneration.

‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’ will appear Monday through Thursday at 6 a.m. on the Fine Living Network, which is on Bright House Network’s digital cable channel
180.

Deaton, president of the Daytona Beach Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida, has been participating in some shows as a co-host throughout
last year in South Florida, where the show has aired on and off for about five years on a PBS channel.

Deaton, who is visually impaired, first appeared as a guest in 2007 when she brought the show, which is generally filmed in Boynton Beach, to Daytona Beach
to film at the Center for the Visually Impaired. She did an episode where she cooked with her son, who is now 8.

Deaton at the time was director of the National Federation of the Blind Newsline service where people can hear newspaper articles read over the phone. 

The cooking show uses guest chefs who are blind or visually impaired. They provide recipes and directions on how to have fun and stay safe in the kitchen. 

Renee Rentmeester, creator and executive producer of the show, said Deaton brings a lot to the show because she is young, which challenges stereotypes that
people only go blind when they are older. 

Plus, she said, Deaton has experience with and knowledge about macular degeneration. 

 ‘‘For so many years, it’s sort of been kept a secret almost like a little closed society, but any of us can go blind at any time,’’ Rentmeester said. 

 ‘‘This show is about showing not the disability but the ability of people with disabilities.’’ 

Deaton was 25 when she was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a form of macular degeneration that caused her to lose her central vision but not her peripheral
vision. 

She was 23 when she started noticing vision problems while working at a newspaper in Ohio and afterward she was not able to pass a driver’s license renewal
test. What’s important about the cooking show, she said, is it appeals to all audiences. But for the blind, she said it’s ‘‘a form of them getting back
their independence.’’ 

The show helps them get in the kitchen despite their condition by teaching various techniques. The show describes everything that is going on, she said,
for people who are unable to see ‘‘It’s very exciting,’’ Deaton said. ‘‘This is something that combines two of my passions — cooking and blindness advocacy.’’ 

She plans to go to South Florida next month to film her cooking segment about making a type of bean soup. She developed it after raiding her pantry one
day. She’s not able to drive and it was cold outside; she couldn’t get to a grocery store, so she went into her pantry. 

 ‘‘I’m thinking of doing that and talking about how important it is to have a well-stocked pantry,’’ she said. 

The show can also be seen at visionworldfoundation.net , which is the parent company of the show, and on the ‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’ Face­book site.  

[Caption for photo below]

 ‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’ is the first TV show produced especially for blind and visually impaired people.  
Fine Living Network  

MORE ONLINE: Watch the show by following the link at: 

news-journalonline.com 

[Caption for photo below]

Sabrina Deaton, left, of South Daytona and Dr. Marc Gannon of South Florida co-host segments of a new television show about ‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’
for people who are blind or visually impaired. Deaton is a longtime advocate for visually impaired people. 
Fine Living Network   

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