Sharon Wong
Sharon Wong is the food allergy advocate and blogger behind Nut Free Wok, a food allergy blog specializing in "Allergy Aware Asian Fare." When her two sons were diagnosed with food allergies, Sharon took action by channeling her love of cooking into adapting classic Asian recipes for people with nut allergies. Her blog and personal advocacy is all about making food allergy-friendly Asian food possible and delicious with recipes like Peanut-Free Pad Thai and a Better for You Butter Mochi.
Mother’s Day
In honor of Mother's Day, we are celebrating a few food allergy moms who embody the true spirit of Spokin. These women get the job done. They move food allergy mountains and raise awareness by creating products, resources and even entire research facilities. These are the moms who stay up until midnight baking safe chocolate chip cookies — and then use the recipe as inspiration for a food allergy-friendly cookbook. They lead by example to ensure that their children lead full lives, and for that, we are truly grateful.
Mary Weiser
Mary Weiser is a more than a food allergy mom — she is an advocate committed to changing the future of food allergies. After her two children were diagnosed with multiple allergies, she founded the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center at the University of Michigan. This center of excellence will provide cutting-edge research for the food allergic community and will be a model for other centers around the country. Mary lives with her husband and two food allergic children in Ann Arbor.
Heather Eiserman
Heather Eiserman does not let food allergies hold her family back. This Chicago mom is a relentless advocate and fundraiser for food allergies in support of her daughter, Lola. Heather recently walked with her daughter at the Chicago FARE Walk, where Lola led "Team Lola" to raise more than $10,000. Whether through traveling internationally or by dining out at new restaurants, Heather encourages those managing food allergies to live fully. Her advocacy also inspires Lola, who has her own food allergy blog LE by LE, which highlights allergy-friendly products.
Kimberley Yates
Kimberley Yates is a food allergy mom ahead of her time. Her daughter was the first multi-allergen oral immunotherapy patient at Stanford University under the care of Dr. Kari Nadeau. But Kimberley didn't stop with her child – she made it her mission to make treatments accessible and to support families across the country. Through her fundraising and community building efforts, Kimberley was instrumental in creating the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford. She works tirelessly to make the Center’s vision a reality by bringing their research, therapies, and diagnostics to the community. And she doesn't stop there – she also works with co-founders Dr. Ashley Dombkowski and Dr. Kari Nadeau of Before Brands, a company that hopes to put a stop to food allergies before they start. She lives in California with her three girls, Tessa, Reese and Alyssa.
Binay Curtis
For Binay Curtis, living with food allergies is all about finding balance — for herself and her clients. She keeps her plate full as a food allergy nutritionist, health + fitness writer, weight loss specialist and mother. Binay's approach to living and eating well with food allergies has given her food allergic son and others endless inspiration through her website Bacon + Broccoli. She lives with her family in San Francisco.
JJ Vulopas
JJ Vulopas lives in the Land of Can. For this Wharton student, author and entrepreneur, milk and tree nut allergies are not limitations, but opportunities to make a change in the world. JJ is on a mission to put kids with food allergies on the map, inspiring them to advocate for themselves through his children’s book, Land of Not. As his characters learn to focus on what they can do, the book teaches a lesson we could all learn — you are who you are, not who you’re not. Follow JJ on Spokin @jamisonv to see all of his 25 recommendations!
Marie Tillman
As an entrepreneur, nonprofit founder and food allergy step-mom, Marie Tillman is all about creating solutions. Her company, Mac & Mia, is a children's clothing service that provides custom outfits for boys and girls — age newborn to 6 — delivered right to your door. Marie also created the Pat Tillman Foundation, a nonprofit that awards scholarships to veterans and their spouses in honor of her late husband Pat Tillman. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband and five children.
Roxanne Palin: A Family A-FARE
You won't catch Roxanne Palin taking a day off. With two food allergic children and a food allergic husband, she constantly finds ways to turn circumstances into opportunities for change in the world of food allergies. Over the years, Roxanne has been a strong advocate and fundraiser for food allergy safety, education and research. She and her daughter, Amanda, are being honored at the FARE NYC luncheon in April 2017.
Roxanne is the Director of Marketing at Juice Press, a NYC-based organic, vegan grab-and-go wellness brand with more than 60 locations in New York, Boston, New Jersey and Connecticut.
36 Skills to Teach Your Food Allergic Child
When teaching your child a life skill, it’s all about baby steps. Whether you’re potty training, practicing the ABCs or learning to cross the street, there’s a lot of hand-holding in the beginning. Ultimately, the job of a parent is to guide their children to independence. Kids with food allergies have an extra set of lessons to master. We’ve huddled with food allergy moms, allergists and psychologists to create a list of skills every food allergic child ultimately needs to learn – whatever the pace – these are simply suggested ages to introduce the concepts. Wherever you are on the journey, we encourage you to take a well-deserved break and look at all that you and your child have undoubtedly accomplished. Early Childhood | Preschool | Elementary School | Middle School | High School
