The Screamin Brothers L to R, David, Dawson, J.R and Joseph Wikkerink flash big smiles after a game of soccer on March 4.
Sitting down to the dinner table each night can be a stressful process for many families. Finding a meal that everyone is willing to eat as well as taking the time to prepare it are sometimes the biggest stresses of a family’s day. According to new research, this daily ritual is now getting more difficult for families due to a rise in the number of food allergies across the country.
Research published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology shows around 2.5 million Canadians suffer from food allergies. This equates to roughly 7.5 per cent of the population. For one local family, this problem bought about a successful business.
Lethbridge’s own Screamin Brothers is a family owned business run by talented 16-year-old J.R, 15-year-old Dawson, nine-year-old Joseph and six-year-old David. J.R started developing the frozen treat product at age 10 after the devastation of the Haiti earthquake hit home for the southern Albertan family. The youngest members of their family Joseph and David were born in Haiti. Shortly after bringing Joseph home to Lethbridge, the natural disaster hit the Central American country where David was still living at the time.
“David was still living in Haiti when the earthquake hit and he ended up getting cholera and the orphans were living in tents,” said Dawson.
Suffering from several food allergies, Dawson says it can sometimes be hard to enjoy a sweet treat. “I’m allergic to dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts… I believe that’s about it,” laughs Dawson. “So J.R made this ice cream that I can actually eat, which is amazing.”
Local holistic nutritional consultant, Cris Robinson says the Wikkerink family is not alone in their fight against food allergies. Seeing an increase in the number of people she sees in her office who are finding ways to combat the health issue.
“It amazes me how quickly we’re seeing allergies evolve and how they’re affecting our bodies and how much younger (we are when) they’re affecting us,” says Robinson.
The Wikkerink’s started selling their product at the local farmer’s market where they discovered that many other people also struggle with food allergies. Having a product that enabled them to help out children’s charities as well as something that could be enjoyed by their whole family has now boomed into a business none of them expected says J.R.
“As a 10-year-old I just wanted to do something to help and give back. That was my only goal. I could not have expected it, even in my dreams I would not have expected it to go this far,” said J.R.
The scream team have also achieved commercial success in their venture to give back. Recently being awarded the young entrepreneur of the year award by the Alberta Chamber of Commerce is the cherry on top of what has been a successful few years.
Five per cent of the Screamin Brothers net profits go back to children’s charities both locally and abroad. While their sales continuing to increase, J.R is ecstatic that they can keep giving more back to the world’s greatest resource, children.
