Meet Trailblazer Mikayla Donovan

Blazing Trails With Food Allergies: Meet Mikayla Donovan, Equal Eats’ First Trailblazer

Living with severe food allergies can often feel limiting - especially when it comes to travel and dining out. That’s why we’re thrilled to introduce Mikayla Donovan, the very first Equal Eats Trailblazer, and a powerful voice for the food allergy and free-from community.

In a recent conversation, Kyle Dine, founder of Equal Eats, sat down with Mikayla to talk about her journey, her advocacy, and what this new partnership means for people navigating life with food allergies.

From Exclusion to Empowerment

Mikayla is a senior in college, originally from Boston, with deep ties to Honolulu, Hawaii - a place that helped shape her adventurous spirit. She has lived her entire life with multiple severe, anaphylactic food allergies, including peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and eggs.

Like many in the allergy community, her childhood was marked by exclusion, isolation, and being told she “couldn’t.” But she was also supported by an incredibly proactive mom, who quietly went the extra mile - calling ahead about cupcakes, recreating safe versions of party treats, and setting a standard for what respect around food allergies looks like.

Those early experiences laid the groundwork for the confident boundaries and strong relationships Mikayla has today.

Creating the Space She Never Had

Mikayla’s advocacy began when she noticed something missing online: a place where people with food allergies could simply be real. A place to vent, share, relate, and feel less alone.

She launched an Instagram account originally called Allergy Teens, focused on connecting young people navigating similar challenges. As she grew older, so did the platform. Now known as Barely Reactive, her content reflects life as a young adult with food allergies - still rooted in safety and awareness, but expansive enough to include travel, adventure, and joy.

What started as a small community has grown into something far bigger: a hub for connection, education, and empowerment.

Why This Partnership Matters

As someone who loves to travel, Mikayla has long been a fan of allergy translation cards - so partnering with Equal Eats felt natural.

What excites her most about the collaboration is the opportunity to create real, honest content. Not polished perfection, but authentic moments that show what it actually feels like to navigate restaurants, ask hard questions, second-guess yourself, and still choose to live fully.

One of her first videos with Equal Eats captured exactly that: dining out, explaining her thought process, and showing both the confidence and the hesitation that come with food allergies. That relatability is the point - reminding people they’re not alone, and that their fears are valid.

Living a Full Life With Allergies

Throughout the conversation, one theme kept surfacing: food allergies don’t have to define the limits of your life.

Mikayla’s content shows her surfing, diving with sharks, traveling to warm destinations, and enjoying the beach - always prepared, always aware, but never held back. Tools like allergy cards and insulated epinephrine cases help reduce stress, allowing her to focus on the experience rather than the fear.

Her favorite destination so far? Aruba - not just for the sunshine, but for how supportive and accommodating people were with her allergies.

What’s Next

Over the coming weeks, Mikayla and Equal Eats will be sharing content that blends lived experience with practical tools - showing how preparation, self-advocacy, and the right support can open doors instead of closing them.

This partnership is about more than products. It’s about visibility, confidence, and showing the allergy community that it is possible to travel, dine out, and chase adventure safely.

As Kyle put it best: this is a reminder that you can do it - and sometimes, seeing someone else do it first makes all the difference.

👉 Follow Barely Reactive to join Mikayla on her journey, and stay tuned as she continues blazing trails for the food allergy community.