Safe Sweets
Alexis Fellows, 9, suffers from life-threatening food allergies – so much so that exposure to dairy, shellfish, peanuts or tree nuts, among other things – have sent her to the hospital in critical condition. Her 7-year-old brother, Ryan, also suffers food allergies.
When Alexis was 4 years old, everyone in her class was given candy and she received a pencil. That exclusion prompted her mother, Michele Fellows ’94 (B.A. communications-radio/TV/film), to experiment in the kitchen, coming up with baked goods delicious enough to be shared.
Thus was born Sweet Alexis, an allergy-conscious bakery based in Los Osos, Calif., created in 2008 and now shipping baked goods nationwide.
“My husband urged me to turn a negative into a positive,” Fellows recalled. “I knew that if I didn’t know how to bake safely, my children couldn’t enjoy a cupcake. I wound up making products that other people liked and enjoyed.”
Today, she said, there are “a zillion websites” detailing food allergies and ways to live with them. “But back when Alexis was born, I was given no information, and there was just nothing out there,” Fellows said.
She took it upon herself to learn as much as possible about food allergies, and now the Sweet Alexis website (www.sweetalexis.com) has links to many food-allergic community organizations and resources.
Sweet Alexis is the only dedicated commercial kitchen that is egg-, dairy-, tree nut- and peanut-free west of the Mississippi. It features a variety of cakes, breads and cookies available at a local storefront and through mail order. “Parents come in who’ve never purchased anything over the counter for their children,” Fellows said. “Some children are eating a cookie for the first time.”
In spite of their severe conditions, Fellows worried that her children would grow up isolated, and so decided to keep Alexis and Ryan in public schools. “I thought if we do things properly and everyone’s aware, they can be safe,” she explained. Teachers are trained and emergency kits are on hand throughout their school. An aide sits with Alexis at lunchtime.
“If my child doesn’t learn how to live with this disability, she won’t have a life,” Fellows said. But Alexis leads as normal a life as possible, including being a cheerleader.
“Each parent handles this situation differently,” she added. “Let’s teach about acceptance of others as individuals, and be respectful of our differences.” 
