Company Rallies Around Autistic Boy Whose One Food Source Was Just Discontinued
By kncipat on March 12, 2021
Jerico Roman stopped eating. For 12 days. The 10 year old also stopped drinking for 5 days. Diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 Jerico has a history of sensory issues when it comes to food. This however was different. He regressed so badly that by the time his parents and doctors were able to pull him out of it Jerico had to relearn how to eat and drink. The one food that kickstarted his eating was Nature’s Path Cinnamon Waffles. He loved them. They were the only thing he would eat. And then….they were discontinued. Jerico’s mom Jenna’s heart sank. “My desperation turned to social media to help me locate the remaining waffles,” said Jenna. While people were busy locating and sending her waffles the Nature’s Path company caught one of the social media posts. “We did a search across North America and found 8 remaining cases in our freezer warehouse in Illinois,” said Nature’s Path CEO Ratana Stephens. The company shipped those right to Jenna and Jerico. But what would happen when those ran out? The recipe used to make the waffles was a commercial one including a lot of ingredients that us normal folks cannot get at the store. For a month Nature’s Path worked on scaling the recipe down and finding substitute ingredients that would work. Finally they tweaked it to perfection. The next step? That recipe was personally delivered to Jerico and his mom. Jenna couldn’t believe it. “I’m just so appreciative for all the support, empathy and care.”
Nature’s Path CEO Ratana Stephens said, “Many of us at the company were really affected by their story and we are so happy we could help in some small way.”
Jerico didn’t say much. He simply ate his Cinnamon Waffles and smiled.
