When Tess Ferm dons her crown and sash, she feels as if she is putting on her own sparkly version of a superhero cape for food allergies. The newly crowned Miss America’s Teen 2026 is using her voice on the national stage to raise food allergy awareness.
“I want to make a difference in the food allergy community,” says Tess, who is allergic to tree nuts and sesame. “Getting to have this platform in my teens, it’s just crazy the amount of things I can get done and can make possible.”
By the time she won the Miss America’s Teen competition on September 6, Tess had already made an impact as Miss Charleston’s Teen and Miss South Carolina’s Teen 2025. The 18-year-old has been sharing her own story about living with severe food allergies, while educating communities, lawmakers and schools.
At 5 years old, Tess suffered her first anaphylactic reaction to a cookie that she ate following a swim lesson in 2012. Allergy tests after that severe reaction revealed allergies to tree nuts, sesame and egg. (She outgrew the egg allergy).
Today, when she visits schools to educate about food allergies and epinephrine use, the Charleston teen sees herself in the young students who have food allergies. Tess finds it especially meaningful to make connections with those kids – because she understands what they’re going through.
“I get to advocate for these kids and advocate for our community. It is truly one of the greatest honors of my life,” Tess tells Allergic Living.
Teen’s Family: Her Food Allergy Supporters
The new Miss America’s Teen did not always feel secure sharing her experiences about living with food allergies. “When I was younger I was scared to talk about it. I don’t think I was strong enough to share the scary parts,” Tess says.
But her confidence grew, thanks in large part to her family’s support. She credits her mom Jennifer, dad John, and brothers Jack and Rex for helping her to manage food allergies.
Tess has always looked up to her older brother Jack, 23. He is allergic to dairy, tree nuts and sesame, and she’s long admired the way he advocates for himself. He has also been a source of reassurance to his younger sister. For example, when she would feel anxious about the possibility of a reaction ahead of dining out.
“We were going through something traumatic, but together,” Tess recalls.
Food allergies have given Tess an appreciation for everything her mom does to keep her safe. They also have inspired a love of cooking that she shares with her dad.
She even keeps a list of allergy-friendly recipes she wants to try making, and often shares her creations with her family. For example, her grandpa, who similarly has food allergies, is one of the family members who enjoyed a chocolate fountain that Tess created with Enjoy Life’s allergy-friendly chocolate.
Today, sharing her experiences navigating life with food allergies comes naturally for Tess.
“I feel like I’m stronger, I’ve become more confident in myself and my story,” she says. “I have to use this national title for what little Tess and little Jack would have wanted.”
Teen in Action on Food Allergies
Tess’s confidence was in full display during the Miss America’s Teen competition, where she received $30,000 in scholarships for winning the title. In addition to sharing her food allergy experience, she wowed the audience when with her singing performance of “Tomorrow”.
She hopes to provide support for other people living with food allergies through her community service initiative, called “From Fear to Freedom”. Her advocacy efforts earned her the overall “Teens in Action” award at the Miss America’s Teen competition.
She plans to continue working in schools to provide allergy education because “that has been where my heart is,” Tess says. The incoming Furman University rising freshman plans to study psychology and become a child life specialist.
Her allergy advocacy also has taken her to the South Carolina legislature. There, she successfully urged legislators to make an official proclamation for Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) in her state for the past two years. She wants to ensure that each state legislature makes a proclamation acknowledging FAAW.
Tess also raises food allergy awareness as a member of the food allergy nonprofit FARE’s Teen Advisory Council, and as an ambassador for the nonprofit organization Red Sneakers for Oakley.
Personal Experience Inspires Action
In addition to food allergies, asthma is also a part of Tess’s family. Both her brothers have asthma, so she knows firsthand about the need for the lifesaving asthma medication.
She wants to work with the state Department of Public Health and school nurses to start a program that provides free albuterol to schools in South Carolina.
In her personal journey, Tess completed an oral immunotherapy program in 2022. Initially, it appeared she had achieved allergy remission to all tree nuts as well as sesame. But then, during a dinner out, she experienced a mild reaction to hazelnuts and walnuts.
Since nuts are a source of anxiety, Tess is back to avoiding tree nuts altogether and always carries her AUVI-Q epinephrine auto-injectors. However, she is relieved to be able to consume sesame.
Diligence about avoiding allergens or a newfound freedom thanks to being in remission for sesame are all part of the personal journey that Tess shares on social media. Her Instagram accounts, which include personal experiences and allergy education, provide a main vehicle for her advocacy.
Whether enjoying Fashion Week in New York City as the new Miss America’s Teen, reading food labels, or whipping up quinoa pancakes, Tess is shining a light on allergy-friendly living.
“I am doing in a way that I love and it’s actually helping people,” she says.
Teen’s Crowning Achievements
Tess’s ability to bring food allergies to the national stage began when she discovered a box of her mom’s pageant crowns at age 10. Young Tess decided she wanted to take part in pageants just like her mom, who had competed in Alabama.
“Being able to represent pageantry that I love, and also the food allergy community is very special,” Tess says.
While traveling for competitions and appearances, Tess has been diligent about her allergies. She carries her epinephrine auto-injectors everywhere, and makes sure to inform everyone around her. For example, the other girls who were competing for Miss America’s Teen during the week in Orlando, Florida looked out for her safety, she notes.
Ensuring she has access to safe meals and her go-to allergy-friendly snacks is essential. For the big pageant, long rehearsal days began at 4 a.m. for hair and make-up.
Those precautions allow her to thrive in doing what she loves.
A box of crowns sparked Tess’s dreams. Now she’s wearing her own crown, with the confidence to talk about her own experience and to advocate for others who have food allergies.
“This is an opportunity that can open so many doors,” Tess says. “If there’s anything you are passionate about you can fight for it and you can have the platform to share it.”
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