A life-threatening exposure to pistachios during infancy that revealed a nut allergy has led to Elena Gallegos’ victory in a Jif Peanut Butter-sponsored contest.

Elena, 11, of Eastvale, was awarded a $15,000 prize in the company’s national “Imagine If, With Jif” contest, which recognizes kids who create original and impactful charities.

“I was so excited,” she said about learning she had won. “I was jumping up and down. I was ecstatic.”

The home-schooled sixth-grader founded Unicorn Kids in May 2018. Her company produces T-shirts with graphics she created to help educate people about food allergies and the need for food safety.

Elena said she came up with the name after her dad explained that what she’s allergic to is like a poison to her and learning that in mythology, unicorn horns carry an antidote to poison, much like an EpiPen.

The idea for the company was born out of her own nut allergies. When Elena was 19 months old, her mother Sarah Gallegos said she was playing with her and eating pistachios.

“I touched her and not thinking, I got a tiny shell on the top of her mouth,” she said. “An hour later, she was in anaphylaxis. By the time I got her to the E.R., she was struggling to breathe.”

Elena was diagnosed with food allergies, specifically nuts. That’s one of the reasons she is home-schooled.

Her mother recognizes the irony of someone who’s allergic to nuts winning a peanut butter company’s contest.

“We were laughing when our friend told us about the contest. We were like what are the odds,” Sarah Gallegos said.

However, after looking up a previous winner – a girl who made dolls to raise awareness about children undergoing medical and surgical procedures – it didn’t seem so far-fetched that they would consider her daughter’s push to educate the public on nut and food allergies, she said.

“They are trying to help the allergy community, and that is such a huge deal for someone who is in the peanut butter industry,” Sarah Gallegos said. “The message is just for these kids to use their imagination. Be creative. Use that energy for spreading more love in the world. It’s what we want our kids to do.”

Jif partners with the National Peanut Board to support research and education initiatives to increase peanut allergy awareness, the company said in a news release.

“We love that Elena and her Unicorn Kids business is focused on education and reducing the stigma kids with allergies feel,” Tina Floyd, a Jif senior vice president and general manager, said in the release. “As one of the world’s largest peanut butter makers, we know that food allergies are a prevalent topic for parents as they send their kids off to school or over to a friend’s house, and we want to open a dialogue to better educate and nourish families – all families – especially those with kids who have food allergies.”

Elena’s allergies are so severe that eating foods that were processed in the same plant as nuts or just eating near someone who is consuming nuts can make her sick. Elena recalled how the Thanksgiving before last, she had a reaction after her grandparents touched her with pecan residue on her hands.

“Now they understand more,” she said. “They support me. This (past Thanksgiving), they didn’t have any pecans or nuts.”

Protecting herself from exposure to nuts has become automatic.

“My life is little different,” she said. “I always have to be careful about what I eat. I have never known different, so it’s second nature to me.”

Elena has always loved to bake and began learning to cook her own meals at age 9 or 10.

“I started letting her cook and it kind of really caught fire with her,” Sarah Gallegos said. “She will now take a whole week and meal plan. She has been empowered, which is super important for food allergy kids. They have to know how to take care of themselves.”

Elena intends to use the prize money to continue to educate and empower others – making plans to set up an office where she can design her graphics, launch her own website and expand her business to include an adult line of shirts.

“I love helping people,” she said. “I just have a natural passion for it. God gave it to me.”

Contest winner

Who: Elena Gallegos

Age: 11

Residence: Eastvale

Notable: The sixth-grader and T-shirt designer has won Jif Peanut Butter’s national “Imagine If, With Jif” contest, which comes with a $15,000 prize.

Video: See her contest entry at https://www.youtube.com/watch? time_continue=1&v=AK5mkotT7ak

Unicorn Kids: Visit https://unicornkids.bigcartel.com/ for more information about Elena’s effort to educate the public on food allergies.