Utah Food Allergy Mom Meets US Demands with Plant-Based Cooking Club, Raises Awareness and Builds Community

A food allergy mom in Utah is uniting kids across the United States and Canada with her inclusive cooking club that caters to all kinds of special diets.

Tiffany Rogers, a wife and mother who has been experimenting with food for the past 20 years said her life was turned upside down when her youngest son was diagnosed with multiple, severe food allergies. At the time, allergy-friendly recipes and related information was hard to find, so she started a website to share what she was learning with others.

It didn't take long for Tiffany to become more involved in the community, serving as support group leader for NNMG Food Allergic Families of Utah, Chairperson for the Utah FARE Walk for Food Allergy, and for the Utah Food Allergy Network as General Board Member and Community Events Director. She has also served as speaker at a number of conferences including the Utah Food Allergy Network's Annual Conference, the National Conference for Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), and the Food Allergy Blogger's and Consumer's Conference (FABLOGCON).

While serving in these capacities, Tiffany planned and facilitated many events for kids with severe food allergies including non-food Easter egg hunts and trunk-or-treats, family campouts, and allergy-friendly, edible gingerbread-house building events.

During this time, Tiffany made a connection between food-allergies, plant-based eating, and gluten-free diets, discovering a pattern of similar foods being avoided. She also realized the importance for kids with food restrictions to learn to cook their own food: "kids on special diets need to grow up learning how to prepare their own healthy meals and future food service chefs need to know how to accommodate them." But Tiffany isn't the only person recognizing the growing demand for innovative food:
-In 2018, Nielsen retail data showed plant-based alternatives reaching 3.3 billion dollars, outperforming traditional staples(1).
-New data released by the Plant-Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute shows a continued growth in sales of plant-based foods, increasing 11% from 2018 to 2019(2).

Restaurants are catching on, mostly in the fast-food arena with products like Impossible Foods(3), but dining establishments overall are still behind the curve. International food and restaurant consultants, Baum+Whiteman, states that most of today's plant-based consumer growth is happening on grocery store shelves(4). In addition, food service providers are not adequately trained to accommodate food allergies and many families are not comfortable managing risks associated with dining out as a result. Tiffany says that's a shortcoming she can help correct. That's why she started the Chef Free Club.

Pre-orders for club memberships are currently available through February 21st and the first plant-based, gluten-free and allergy-friendly cooking lessons-in-a-box will ship to founding members in March. New kits will continue to ship monthly and interactive video lessons will empower kids on special diets as well as prepare future chefs for careers in the food service industry,

Recipes and food samples in each kit are promised to remain free from all of the most common allergens covered by current food allergy laws (FALCPA), gluten, and animal-based products. Furthermore, in an effort to keep the club as inclusive as possible, a database of existing club members' diet needs and preferences will also be utilized for each future kit design. "Inclusivity," says Tiffany, "is a key part of bringing together a community of custom-diet eaters who are avoiding similar foods, but for different reasons.''

Some of the most commonly avoided foods among plant-based, gluten-free and food allergy consumers have been considered staples in the American diet for thousands(5) of years. Reasons for avoiding these foods range from environmental awareness to ethics, food allergies, auto-immune diseases, obesity, or other health concerns:
-An estimated 39% of Americans are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods(6), avoiding meat, fish, eggs, and milk.
-1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease(7), causing a strict avoidance of wheat and other gluten-containing grains.
-According to Food Allergy Research and Education(8):
32 Million Americans (1 in 13 children) in the United States have a food allergy
-The prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011
-Eight major food allergens (milk, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, peanut, & tree nuts) are responsible for most of the serious food allergy reactions in the United States

Tiffany aims to bring awareness to these conditions and lifestyle choices through a club member spotlight included in each Chef Free kit as well as club contests promoted via social media. "The mission of our club is four fold: to teach essential skills, establish healthy relationships with food, invite kids to join a community, and empower kids to spread awareness in positive and healthy ways while also becoming more aware of others around them." she said.

Monthly kits will also include recipes, skill tutorials, themed games and activities, culinary tools, product samples/coupons from participating sponsors, and other fun bonuses to empower, teach, and inspire little chefs. Kit themes are also designed to encourage creative learning outside of the kitchen and teach additional life skills.

The subscription boxes are not completely inclusive of the food required to make each recipe, however, because Tiffany wanted to keep the price of the box low, encourage the use of fresh & local produce, and allow families to customize each recipe to their dietary needs. According to Food Allergy Research and Education, "more than 170 foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions".

Currently, Chef Free Club subscription boxes can be shipped anywhere within the United States and Canada, and the company already has a growing clientele between these two countries. The cost of shipping is included in the price of the box for United States addresses and shipping is offered to Canadian residents at a discount.

In the future, Tiffany said her business has potential for international operations, allowing her to reach countries where plant-based diets are already more established.

Sources

1. https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2018/06/20/Innovative-plant-based-food-options-outperform-traditional-staples-Nielsen-finds#
2. https://plantbasedfoods.org/2019-data-plant-based-market/
3. https://www.businessinsider.com/impossible-foods-raises-300-million-2019-5
4. https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/0c5d00_90935d6fda344991a8fc2452eb112c83.pdf
5. https://www.history.com/news/a-brief-history-of-bread
6. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2019/02/26/vegan-vegetarian-pescatarian-flexitarian-plant-based-no-meat-diets-compared/2949993002/
7. https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/facts-and-figures/
8. https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/facts-and-statistics

180 S. 100 W. #685 Pleasant Grove, UT

Founded by Tiffany Rogers, the Chef Free Club aims to teach kids essential skills, help kids establish healthy relationships with food, invites kids to join a community, and empowers kids to raise awareness in positive ways. Monthly subscription boxes and online videos teach kids to cook in the safety of their own homes, free from common allergens, gluten, and animal-based products. Pre-order discounts are available through February 21, 2020 at www.cheffreeclub.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @chef.free.club.

This release was published on openPR.