RICHMOND, Va. — Eli Bank and Grace Mittl founded Absurd Snacks while in a marketing class at the University of Richmond after seeing family and friends struggle to find good-tasting, allergy-free foods.
“One classmate in particular, his name was Dan. He would come into class every day with the same seed-based granola bar advertised as nut-free. But a couple of years prior to our class, he actually ended up in the hospital because he fell victim to cross-contamination,” Bank recalled.
Since graduating, Bank and Mittl have worked to put Absurd Snacks in more than 150 stores across the Mid-Atlantic including every Kroger in Virginia.
They offer sweet and salty snack mixes of chickpeas, granola, and dried fruit.
The nine leading causes of food allergies identified in the US are: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame, according to the USDA.
During Halloween, it can be hard to find allergy-free and safe snacks for children and adults allergic to those nine ingredients.
Once again, Bank and Mittl are participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project.
The campaign was started by the nonprofit FARE, which stands for Food Allergy Research and Education.
By putting a teal pumpkin on your doorstep, you let kids know that your house is food allergy-friendly.
“Every year we're sitting on our front porch and there are 1000s and 1000s of kids walking by, but you'll see the apprehension in people's faces when they have food allergies because they aren't sticking their fists in every bucket like some of the other kids can,” Bank explained.
Bank and Mittl have decorated their Hanover Avenue front porch in Richmond with all things teal to alert trick-or-treaters and their parents about their allergy-free safe space.
“As a food allergy-aware brand, we wanted to create a really fun experience for Halloween on Hanover and have kids who have food allergies to be able to indulge and have fun on Halloween, just like everyone else,” Mittl said.
Bank noted that the project benefits span beyond the youngest generations.
“There's also definitely a large population of adults that have food allergies, and so as they're walking around with their families you can sense the appreciation from them as well that you know someone has their back,” he said.
FARE offers a Teal Pumpkin Project Map where you can find all of the homes participating in your area. The pair will continue their advocacy as members of the Food Allergy Council under the FARE organization.
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