krescent foods

I am officially diagnosed with 13 severe food allergies.

My entire life I have grown up embodying the mentality that my allergies are my unique gift and sometimes it takes more work, but it’s a part of who I am. However, it doesn’t mean it has always been a piece of cake.

From the countless kids at school who would dangle food, I was allergic to over my lunchbox to "see what would happen” to having to watch peers eat out at a birthday dinner while I sat there not able to eat anything. This constant overwhelming fear looming over me every time I eat is unshakable. Because of my allergies, I developed an obsessive-compulsive disorder ("OCD"), which makes me constantly check every food label 5-6 times, wash my hands until they’re bleeding because of the fear of an allergen being on my hands, not eat something if there’s a chance something may have happened to it, and so much more mental strain.

A lot of people don’t understand the complexity behind how much food allergies consumes your everyday life and there’s not much you can do about it. Luckily for me, my mom is the most amazing person in the world and has made it her life goal for me to have a “normal” lifestyle as a kid with so many allergies. She would make me my own special treats to take to birthday parties, bring in my special foods for tasting parties at my school, and always makes me feel like my allergies are something special, not a punishment.

I had the realization moving so far away from home this past year to go to college that I was given my allergies for a reason. I am using them to fuel my entrepreneurial and tenacious spirit to develop krescent as the first manufacturer of allergen-friendly foods that caters directly to college kids. Although I cannot change the reality of my life, I can help others feel less alone and allow them to not feel inhibited by their allergies.

And I'm not the only one.

According to the Institute of Education Sciences, over 19M students attend college annually in the United States. Of this number, 11% of them have food allergies. What's more, over 25% of fatal food allergic reactions occur in college-aged adults and 50% of these occurrences actually take place on campus.

That's unacceptable.

Since most universities neither offer dedicated, allergen-friendly dining halls nor safe, nutritious meals, an opportunity exists to satisfy this unmet need.

That's where we come in.

krescent provides safely prepared, delicious, ready-to-eat meals directly to college students via refrigerated vending machines.

Because our foods that are rigorously prepared with the highest quality standards and intense scrutiny, whether rushing to go to class or preparing for game day, we enable our customers to save time, eliminate worry and stay focused on their grind.

I brought my team with me.

Our executive team is comprised of my mother, Tina Allen, an accomplished marketing executive with years of experience in the food ingredients industry and Lance Baird, a serial entrepreneur of eight ventures to date, some of which are valued at up to $50M.

I can't thank you enough.

Seriously, thank you. Your contribution will comfort others like me to feel less alone and enable them to feel empowered despite their food allergies.

So, from all of us, we really appreciate your help.

As we prepare for launch, we'll be celebrating the people and companies who are genuinely making a difference across our social media channels. It would mean the world to me if you followed us.

Thanks again for your support of krescent. Together, I really believe we can help those with food allergies eat safely and live freely.