PLEASANT GROVE, Utah - Marylandian -- Children across the United States and Canada will receive their first cooking lessons as part of the Chef Free Club in March. Monthly, themed lessons-in-a box and supplemental videos will empower special-diet kids to create their own healthy meals and prepare future chefs to meet the demands of a rapidly growing free-from-eating market.

From environmental awareness to ethics, food allergies or other health concerns, families are avoiding foods that have been considered staples in the American diet for thousands of years:

• An estimated 39% of Americans are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods, avoiding meat, fish, eggs, and milk.
• 1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease, causing a strict avoidance of wheat and other gluten-containing grains.
• According to Food Allergy Research and Education:
• 32 Million Americans (1 in 13 children) in the United States have a food allergy
• The prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011
• Eight major food allergens (milk, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, peanut, & tree nuts) are responsible for most of the serious food allergy reactions in the United States

Tiffany Rogers, a food allergy mom and support group leader in Utah started the Chef Free Club because "Kids on special diets need to grow up learning how to prepare their own healthy meals and future food service chefs will need to know how to accommodate them." But Tiffany isn't the only person recognizing the growing demand for innovative food:

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• In 2018, Nielsen retail data showed plant-based alternatives reaching 3.3 billion dollars, outperforming traditional staples.
• New data released by the Plant-Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute shows a continued growth in sales of plant-based foods, increasing 11% from 2018 to 2019.

Restaurants are catching on, mostly in the fast-food arena with products like Impossible Foods, but dining establishments overall are still behind the curve. International food and restaurant consultants, Baum+Whiteman, states that most of today's plant-based consumer growth is happening on grocery store shelves. Chef Free's founder, Tiffany Rogers says that's a shortcoming she can help correct. "With so many food alternatives becoming more readily available, now is the time to start changing the way we prepare food and our nation's youth are the people who are going to make that happen."

Chef Free's first cooking boxes will be shipped to founding club members in March and newly designed kits will continue to ship to subscribed members on a monthly basis. Recipes and food samples in each kit are promised to remain free from all of the eight most common allergens, gluten, and animal-based products. In an effort to keep the club as inclusive as possible, a database of existing club members' diet needs and preferences will be utilized for each future kit design. Each kit includes recipes, skill tutorials, themed games and activities, culinary tools, products samples and coupons from participating sponsors, and other fun bonuses designed to teach, inspire, and empower future chefs.

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Founded by food allergy mom and support group leader, Tiffany Rogers, the Chef Free Club aims to teach kids essential skills, help kids establish healthy relationships with food, invites kids to join a community, and empowers kids to raise awareness in positive ways. Monthly subscription boxes and online videos teach kids to cook in the safety of their own homes, free from common allergens, gluten, and animal-based products. Pre-order discounts are available until February 21, 2020 at www.cheffreeclub.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @chef.free.club.