March 27, 2017

Meet Jessica McMorris of The Allergy Friendly Vegetarian in Kirkwood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica McMorris.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Transitioning out of childhood as the oldest of six siblings of a single mother, I thought I was destined to help people as a mental health therapist, so I earned my master’s degree in clinical social work from Florida State University and set out to help troubled teenagers and young adults. I worked in the juvenile justice system in Northwest Florida in therapeutic programs, and when I moved to Georgia in 2004, as a therapeutic teacher and school social worker in a program for children with severe emotional and behavior disorders. I had discovered in 2005 that I had food intolerances that contributed to a cluster of health issues that had gone unresolved for years. Once I eliminated those foods from my diet, my health immediately improved. So, I set about learning how to feed myself without the foods I was used to eating (gluten and dairy at the time). In 2006, I gave birth to my son and shortly after developed a debilitating heart condition. In the course of discovering how to heal my heart issue, I learned more about the world of natural health, discovering energy medicine and diving deeper in to medicinal foods, mind body connection, spirituality, and esoteric knowledge in general. I was also learning more about the foods my body did and did not thrive on, and how to enjoy meals in the absence of familiar or common convenience foods that contained the ingredients I couldn’t eat. In late 2009, as I was discovering I was not able to continue in the high stress field I worked in because of my heart issue, I met Sean, and embarked on a personal and professional journey with him that led us to starting this business.

I have had an interest in food since I was a teenager. I cooked my first full holiday meal when I was 15 years old, and was blessed to be nurtured in the kitchen of a saucy little hippie gourmet chef as a teen and young adult. She taught me a depth and love of food I had not experienced in my own family. She helped me develop my natural intuition with food. Sean, who is a professional musician, had worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. His experience has been integral in developing my recipes in to a business endeavor. We both love food, and that makes for a fun experience in the kitchen when developing recipes. As natural born artists, we both think of food in multi-dimensions. We want the same rich experience in substitute foods as the original recipes we grew up enjoying.

When I met him and he was transitioning to my style of eating, like most people who remove common ingredients like gluten and dairy, they go through a grieving period. Sean’s pinnacle moment of grief was realizing he would never be able to enjoy a pumpkin spice muffin ever again. So, in late 2009 I set out to make him a pumpkin spice muffin he would enjoy as much as the original he was lamenting over. By 2013, our household had 5 food intolerances plus my husband’s anaphylactic fruit allergies he’d had since childhood. Along the way we created many amazing recipes for our household that our family and friends love to eat. He encouraged me to write a cookbook (which has taken a back seat to our dry mixes at the moment). I started a blog to talk about walking through the world with food challenges. I continued my research to learn more about how to care for myself with food challenges. And, I did create a decent spice muffin… better than anything that was currently available in stores we could eat, but not great.

In 2013, I had a happy accident with making muffins that literally changed my life overnight. I wanted a muffin or pancake or SOMETHING… you know that craving for a carb-y comfort food. But, I didn’t have my usual ingredients, so I set about trying to use some substitute ingredients. It flopped in the skillet, but there were some expensive ingredients in that batter, so I decided to at least try to bake it up and see if it would be palatable. I pulled out this fluffy looking baked good from the oven and let it cool. When I pulled it apart it looked like the texture of a regular baked good, and when I put it in my mouth I almost died of happiness right there on the spot. Unless you have had to remove an entire store’s worth of foods from your diet due to food allergies/intolerances, you do not know what it’s like when you create or discover a really great substitute food the average person takes for granted. I literally danced and almost cried.

I managed to save enough for Sean to sample (giggle), and when he ate it he was floored. I am not exaggerating when I tell you he literally put me in business on the spot. I wrote down what I had done, refined it over the next few months while I began learning how to start and operate a business through incubation programs and SBDC mentorship, and worked on branding and legalities. And, in 2015 we launched The Allergy Friendly Vegetarian, and our feature product, Muff’n Stuff, in to the local farmer’s markets. By the way, I did create a pumpkin spice muffin for Sean, and the smile on his face when he took that first bite has made this journey worth it more than anything else. I tell everyone it’s his fault Muff’n Stuff even exists!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Any person who is honest about starting and developing a business will tell you that it’s never a smooth road. We have been growing without the benefit of working capital. We are the epitome of a bootstrap endeavor. So, our growth we have experienced thus far has been like the journey of the tortoise in the story of The Tortoise and The Hare; slow and patient. We have been blessed to have a couple micro investors to help us along the way so far, and to be able to barter for certain things, like the graphic design of our logos and product labels. But, our business is being built one conversation at a time, taking calculated, budget friendly steps, with all the marketing and advertising being done free through social media and in person. We are currently a Cottage Foods licensed business, and I bake in a 20-inch gas stove and build bags of mix on a small table in our living room.

I have to be mindful of how hard I push, because my heart remains an issue that requires I take measured steps forward. I follow the adage, “Work smarter, not harder!”, and have had to learn to be comfortable turning down opportunities offered to us if it doesn’t seem like a smart fit at the time. I am always amazed at how the right opportunities at the right time come across our path, growing us at the right pace I am able to handle.

We are still a new business by definition, and I take comfort in what one of my early SBDC mentors said to me in the very beginning; most businesses that sky rocket to success crash and burn just a quickly, but the businesses that grow slowly are the ones that tend to last. I know from personal experience that what we offer is needed in the food community, and every time someone with food allergies who has just discovered us and tasted our product for the first time hugs me or starts crying in gratitude (yes, it happens), it confirms why I had to get these products out in to the world. I am looking forward to securing a larger investor so our dry mixes can be available nationally online and in stores, and people with multiple food challenges can enjoy the same comfort foods as the rest of their friends and family.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Roughly 15% of people in America live with one or more food challenges (food allergies, intolerances/sensitivities, Celiac Disease, veganism). Our company, The Allergy Friendly Vegetarian, offers products and services to these people and the friends and families who desire to share delicious food with them. The Allergy Friendly Vegetarian is currently located in the Kirkwood neighborhood, in the heart of Metro Atlanta.

Our mission is Bringing Yummy to Fragile Tummies!

We offer a line of dry mixes for baking and pancakes & waffles that’s free of the 8 most common food allergens, free of corn and sesame, is gluten free, and vegan. The best part? It’s such high quality everyone enjoys them! Our baking mixes make cupcakes, muffins, breakfast breads, cobblers, and two layer cakes. We included corn and sesame in our allergen list because they are the two fastest growing food allergens outside the top eight. So, our mixes are safe from the majority of food allergies, for people dealing with multiple food intolerances and sensitivities, and for people diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

We also provide recipes, consultation and support to people who are dealing with multiple food challenges. These consumers need help with delicious food options they don’t have to formulate themselves, that are enjoyable to anyone sitting at their dinner table, and sometimes with transitioning their household and lifestyle to accommodate food challenges for the family member dealing with them.

We are known for our delicious baked goods, and what sets us apart from others is that we are able to create products and recipes free of so many food allergens, that also have great flavor, texture, mouth feel and visual appeal. Our baked goods and dry mixes are so great, many of our regular market customers don’t even have food challenges; they just love our stuff!

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I think I was always a precocious child at heart. Although I grew up in a Southern family where children were expected to say and do as the adults told us, I always had a questioning and inquisitive spirit even if I didn’t feel like I was allowed to verbalize it. I would read anything I could get my hands on, which included my grandparents 1968 Encyclopedia set and Reader’s Digest short story collection.

I was also creative and emotive by nature. One of my earliest memories of music was little 5-year-old me listening to a song that I felt so deeply I was moved to tears. I loved to trace pictures, which my maternal grandmother taught me how to do, loved singing, putting on dance recitals and plays for my family, friends, and classroom, and in middle and high school played trumpet and French horn in orchestral and marching band. Musical talent came strong from my mother’s side of the family, but my father influenced me a lot as well.

I was equally interested in science and technology thanks to my father and grandfather’s influence, and took drafting, electronics and home improvement classes in high school. I actually originally wanted to be an architect when I graduated high school. I never felt like I fit in and remained an outsider my entire childhood, which gave me a lot of time to myself. I am the oldest of six children, so I spent a lot of time helping my mother with my siblings, which I feel helped cultivate leadership skills. I was always the one in a group of kids that was trying to orchestrate and organize whatever we decided we were going to do in that moment.

My mother was a single mother much of my life, and we grew up in poverty. I feel like I learned to be resourceful and resilient as a result. That has really helped me in starting this business, because I think of creative ways I can solve whatever issue is at hand.

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