CANCELED: CXS | A Hunger for Change - Noon

Access and affordability issues are exacerbated for a low-income family with multiple food allergies. An estimated 10 to 15% of inner-city children have one or more confirmed food allergy.1 Current WIC food packages and the emergency food system are not designed to address their needs. Faced with the challenges of managing food allergies and food insecurity, Emily Brown and her team at Food Equality Initiative, Inc. (FEI) were determined to find solutions.
 
Food Equality Initiative (FEI) aims to improve health and end hunger in individuals diagnosed with food allergies and celiac disease.
FEI, a Kansas-based organization, collaborates with the local medical community, schools, support groups, and food networks. In Spring 2015, FEI established the nation's first allergy friendly and gluten free food pantry, ReNewed Health. 

Emily Brown is the Founder of FEI. Her responsibilities include the strategic direction and growth of the organization, WIC advocacy and the educational aspects of FEI. A former preschool teacher, she empathizes with the importance of being knowledgeable about your medical condition(s), and how to advocate for those with these condition(s).
 

 
Without her family's struggles with multiple food allergies, FEI would have never come to fruition. Emily learned her daughter was allergic to peanut, eggs, dairy, wheat and soy when her daughter had an anaphylactic reaction at the age of one to peanut butter. Once learning of her daughter's allergies, they had to make many changes to her diet. Emily and her husband quickly became overwhelmed with the cost of the allergy free foods and decided to get assistance from the Women, Infant & Children (WIC) program to help feed her daughter. She soon learned that her daughter was unable to eat many of the foods offered by WIC due to her allergies. She then sought assistance at local food pantries, but again, her daughter's allergies prevented her from taking full advantage of the foods the pantry offered. Emily realized that there is no safety net for low-income people diagnosed with food allergies or Celiac disease.
 
A serious advocate for individuals facing food insecurity and managing a medically necessary diet, Emily passionately shares her personal experience with food insecurity and food allergies at speaking engagements with local nonprofits, health organizations, government leaders and more.