Meet Hope Nardi of Phoenix Food Allergy Community in Valleywide

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Nardi.

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Hope. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Everything started when our son Owen was born a little over two years ago. When Owen was four months old, he was given some formula while I was at work. He began crying, vomiting and broke out into hives. He was taken to the ER, and the doctor said to try a hypoallergenic formula if we chose to use formula again. A few months after that, Owen took a handful of hummus we were eating; his lips swelled, and his breathing became labored. We took him to the ER again where they recommended he see an allergist. The allergist confirmed that he had severe food allergies to dairy, eggs, sesame, and nuts. While it was a relief to know what foods to avoid, it was also heartbreaking to learn our son would have to endure these challenges. As working parents, we had to find someone to care for Owen during the day. We enrolled him at a local daycare and provided all necessary medical documentation and medication. His second day there, he was sent out via ambulance to the ER due to sudden severe hives and facial swelling. The daycare has since denied providing him with any of his allergens. This was the breaking point, we felt helpless. We felt like one of us had to quit our job in order to care for our son because the professionals couldn’t even do it. This is when I realized we couldn’t be the only parents that are dealing with severe allergic reactions. I began to do research and learned that anaphylactic food allergy reactions have increased 377% since 2007 and that 32 million Americans have food allergies (ww.foodallery.org). This made it clear to me that this is a growing health concern, and we needed a local group to offer support to anyone struggling to cope with food allergies.

Has it been a smooth road?
Despite the prevalence of food allergies, there are still a lot of daily struggles. Sometimes society thinks we are over-dramatic and can have a little bit of the allergen and we’ll be fine. Sometimes parents are upset they can’t send nuts to school with their child because someone in the class has a peanut allergy. Sometimes cooks are irritated when you ask that they be stricter about their cross-contamination techniques. It is really tough to be in these situations or see them happen to someone else. However, on a positive note, it also provides us with stronger goals. Many of these situations occur due to a lack of knowledge, and it shows that there is still immense potential for improvement. This is why we work so hard educating the community and doing advocacy work.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Phoenix Food Allergy Community’s mission is to help improve the lives of those affected by food allergies through education, support, and inspiration. Every month we hold meetings at various locations around the valley. Not only do we have in-person meetings, but I always strongly encourage members to reach out to me by email/text/call whenever something important comes up. It’s those unplanned moments of crisis where you really need to reach out to someone, and it’s important that I can be that person. In addition to meetings, we also have special events throughout the year. These events could include hosting tables at conferences, attending health and wellness fairs, holding education sessions at schools, and more.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There is an extensive food allergy community around the world, and everyone involved is so supportive of one another because they understand the daily difficulties. Every day I’m grateful for their inspiration and mentorship. At a personal level, credit is due to my husband as he has been encouraging and supportive of all the goals that I have set for our group. Special recognition goes to the members that show up to our meetings and help host our special events. A big thank you to our allergist for taking wonderful care of our son and agreeing to be our group’s medical advisor. And a huge acknowledgment to Food Allergy Research & Education for putting these groups into existence and offering financial assistance and guidance to further our mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.phoenixfoodallergy.com
• Instagram: phxfoodallergy

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.