By Darrell Halen
Staff Writer

Observer/Bruce Preston Gak’s Snacks owner Jill Robbins prepares samples at the Made in New Hampshire Expo at the NH National Guard Armory in Manchester on Friday, April 7. The company caters to people with food allergies.

It can be hard on a parent of a child with a food allergy to see their son or daughter unable to enjoy snacks with other children.

But a Windham-based company is dedicated to making it easier for kids with food allergies and their families to enjoy baked goods just as others do.

“The whole idea of our company is inclusion,” said Jill Robbins, who started Gak’s Snacks about six months ago.

The company, which primarily does its business on the Internet, makes products, including cookies and coffee cakes, with no peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat or dairy.

Their treats are all natural with organic and whole grain ingredients, and have no artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives, no cholesterol and no trans fat.

Robbins began baking special snacks almost eight years ago after she learned her youngest son suffered from several food allergies. It was difficult, she said, to find good-tasting snacks he could eat. So she started to bake.

She admits, however, that neither her son or her husband, Phil, were impressed with her initial attempts.

But she knew she hit success when she made a peach muffin that her family told her actually tasted like one.

“It got better and I had fewer flops,” Robbins said.

Robbins incorporated her recipes into a cookbook that shares more than 100 recipes. Inside you’ll read her recipes for treats such as blueberry scokiemuffs, apple muffins, apricot oat bars, jam cookies, birthday cakes and cupcakes, chocolate fudge cake, and cherry pie.

Robbins, who was encouraged by others to produce food products they could purchase, said Gak’s Snacks are yummy treats that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless if they have a food allergy or not.

“We don’t consider these ‘allergy foods,’” Robbins said. “We consider them good foods.”

The company currently sells snacks, cookbooks, gifts and ingredients and is planning to introduce its own cookie dough.

Wendy Joanis of Windham, whose 9-year-old daughter is allergic to peanuts, is a regular purchaser of Gak’s Snacks. Her daughter is the only one in the family with a food allergy but everyone in the house eats them.

“My daughter loves them and my family loves them too,” Joanis said.

Shopping for foods that are safe for her daughter is time-consuming, Joanis said. It takes time to visit stores and scrutinize every food label.

“You really can’t be too careful,” Joanis said. “With products like Jill’s, I don’t have to worry.”

When her daughter goes to a kids’ party, she brings along a Gak’s Snack so she can enjoy dessert with other children.

“There is a need for good snacks for kids who get left out,” she said.

Since introducing Gak’s Snacks, Robbins has been touched by messages she’s received from grateful parents.

Several businesses, schools and organizations are carrying its products.

“The word of mouth has been quite explosive,” said Robbins, adding, “There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of interest all over the country.”

For example, Gak’s Snacks will be served at a summer camp at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., this year, and they are stocked in a vending machine in a Georgia high school.

Several stores in New Hampshire, including The Prime Butcher in Windham, are carrying them.

Derry is currently selling about three dozen cookies a week at middle and elementary schools.

“I feel it’s a good thing that a child with allergies can go up to the snack bar and purchase a cookie like everyone else,” said Susan Boroskas, food service director for the Derry School District.