The why?Lucian is a child living with severe food allergies and sensory sensitivities related to autism. For him—and millions of children like him—eating is not just about preference. It is about safety, inclusion, and survival.

 

Every school day, children with food allergies, autism-related sensory sensitivities, and medically necessary vegan diets are forced into impossible situations. Many schools simply do not have safe food options available. Parents are asked to provide meals themselves, exclude their children from shared eating environments, or accept the risk of cross-contamination.

 

In the United States, over 32 million people live with food allergies, including approximately 5.6 million children. Autism affects 1 in 36 children, many of whom experience sensory sensitivities that severely limit what foods they can safely or comfortably consume. Additionally, families raising vegan children for medical, ethical, or cultural reasons often find zero compliant options in public schools and government-funded nutrition programs.

 

For low-income families, this crisis is even more severe. Allergen-free and specialty foods are significantly more expensive, placing a financial burden on parents who already struggle to afford basic necessities. Schools and districts want to help—but their food budgets are not designed to cover the cost of safe, allergen-free, sensory-appropriate foods, even when children medically require them.

 

The problem goes deeper than funding alone.

 

There is currently no scalable, dedicated, top-15 allergen-free manufacturing infrastructure in the United States capable of safely supplying schools, hospitals, WIC programs, and other public institutions. Most manufacturers refuse to produce allergen-free foods due to the cost, liability, and complexity of preventing cross-contamination. As a result, schools and government programs are left without safe vendors—even when the demand is urgent and undeniable.

 

This is not a failure of parents.

It is not a failure of schools.

It is a systemic manufacturing and infrastructure failure.

 

Children like Lucian are excluded from public nutrition programs not because solutions do not exist—but because the system has failed to build and support safe manufacturers to serve them. 

 

Proposed Solution

 

 

 

The solution is to establish Lucian’s Food as the manufacturer—a dedicated, allergen-free food manufacturing company built to safely serve children through public nutrition systems nationwide.

 

Lucian’s Food is being developed as a vertically integrated, vegan, top-15 allergen-free manufacturer, purpose-built to supply schools, hospitals, and government-funded nutrition programs, including WIC, under annual and multi-year contracts. Our facility will manufacture exclusively allergen-free foods, eliminating cross-contamination risks at the source rather than attempting to manage them downstream.

 

This manufacturing model will integrate:

 

Dedicated allergen-free production lines
Robotics and AI-enabled food safety and quality control systems
Zero cross-contamination workflows
Full compliance with USDA, FDA, and school nutrition standards

 

 

By manufacturing at scale using advanced technology, Lucian’s Food will reduce long-term costs and make safe, inclusive food accessible to schools and families who currently have no options.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What We’ve Already Accomplished (Proof of Concept)

 

 

 

Lucian’s Food is not an idea—we have demonstrated demand, validation, and readiness.

 

Selected and showcased at Sacramento Kings Stadium through the Capitalize Competition, validating our concept at a major public venue
Proven retail success, including placement in Raley’s One Market, demonstrating product-market fit
Completed research and development of vegan, top-15 allergen-free food products
Established readiness and demand from multiple school districts, including:

Davis Joint Unified School District
Sacramento City Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District
Additional districts nationwide expressing need

Woman-owned and Native-owned business focused on equity, access, and community impact
Active collaboration with San Jose State University to pursue SBIR funding and additional federal research support
Engineering and technical resources identified and prepared to design robotics- and AI-enabled manufacturing systems

 

 

What is missing is manufacturing infrastructure, not demand or capability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why This Is Urgent

 

 

 

Lucian’s Food was founded by a mother navigating this system firsthand. I am raising a child with food allergies and autism-related sensory needs while also living with a brain tumor. This work is deeply personal and time-sensitive.

 

Families cannot wait for incremental change. Schools cannot solve this alone. The lack of dedicated allergen-free manufacturers continues to exclude children from public nutrition programs and places the burden on parents who often cannot afford specialty foods.

 

This is a public health, education, and equity issue—and it requires real infrastructure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Economic Impact & Vision

 

 

 

Lucian’s Food will build this manufacturing operation in Sacramento, California, aligning with the region’s smart city, food innovation, and advanced manufacturing initiatives.

 

This project will:

 

Create skilled jobs in food manufacturing, robotics, and AI
Position Sacramento as a national leader in allergen-free food manufacturing
Strengthen public health, education access, and economic development

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Funding Will Be Used

 

 

 

Support and investment will directly fund:

 

Facility acquisition and allergen-free manufacturing buildout
Robotics and AI-enabled production and safety systems
Regulatory compliance for school, hospital, and WIC eligibility
Scaling production to meet statewide and national demand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Call to Action

 

 

 

By supporting this petition, you are helping establish the first scalable, dedicated allergen-free food manufacturer built specifically to serve children in public nutrition systems.

 

This is not about creating another food brand.

This is about building the infrastructure that has been missing.