About Us
The Allergy Team ambition is to help children with food allergies thrive. When my son Will was 6 months old he was diagnosed with a severe milk allergy. Discharged from hospital, clutching EpiPens, antihistamine and dairy-free formula our allergy journey began. Suddenly we had answers to Will’s poor weight gain, his eczema and reflux. All could be explained by dairy passing through my breast milk. But there were still so many questions.
I found the impact overwhelming – weaning was a period spent tiptoeing around food, days spent in hospital carrying out food challenges. Fear gripped me in the middle of the night, reliving the anaphylaxis, and understanding what Will could and couldn’t eat. And there was so much isolation and confusion – how to understand food labels, manage a social event with a toddler with low tables spread out with food he was allergic to and then… how to get childcare and return to work.
Now Will is 8 and has a younger brother, Freddie is 5. They both still have multiple allergies and carry AAIs but they’re thriving! Will LOVES football, Freddie loves cooking. They are at the local school where they eat with the other children. I am still daunted by the road ahead… how to ensure they take on the responsibility of their food allergies, and have the same opportunities as everyone else which is why I came together with Jen to set up The Allergy Team.
Sarah Knight
Founder and CEO
Sarah has two children, Will and Freddie, they both have multiple, severe food allergies.
As a journalist, Sarah’s instinct was to arm herself with information to support her sons and keep them safe but the search left her feeling anxious, isolated and ill-informed. The Allergy Team is born out of Sarah’s desire to vastly improve the wellbeing and knowledge of those caring for children with allergies – to help them thrive.
Sarah has worked for major production companies including the BBC, ITN Productions and Remarkable Television, part of Endemol Shine. Credits include Series Producing Your Home Made Perfect and the BBC’s flagship consumer programme Watchdog.
Sarah lives in North London with her husband Ian and their two energetic young boys.
Sarah is available for one to one sessions with parents and carers and for consultancy with schools and businesses. If you would like to discuss this, please email hello@theallergyteam.com.
Jen Meakin
Founder and Head of Food
Jen is mum to two boys and lives with her family in Oxford. She loves nothing more than bringing people together over food and wants to help families with allergies enjoy that too.
After leaving university, Jen trained as a chef at Ballymaloe Cookery School before going on to run British Food Fortnight, a celebration of British Food. She’s developed recipes for supermarkets, recipe-tested for celebrity chefs, catered at Number 10 and campaigned to improve children’s cooking skills. She has also worked in communications and marketing.
Her interest in allergen-free cooking began at Ballymaloe when her final menu was developed around a friend’s dietary needs. Jen wants to share her expertise in creating brilliant free-from dishes; her favourite recipe is chocolate mousse!
TOP DOCTORS SUPPORT WHAT WE’RE DOING:
“Families need to know how to manage the risks to have as full a life as possible. This will provide an essential resource which is desperately needed.”
“There is a desperate need for a comprehensive, trusted resource which will not only make people safer but improve their quality of life enabling them to thrive.”
