FAAN Walk for Food Allergy - Guest Blogger!

by Kelley Lindberg


Hi! This week, I asked Lynn, a member of the Utah Food Allergy Network (UFAN), to write about her family's experience at the second annual FAAN Walk for Food Allergy. Thank you, Lynn, for sharing your day with us!

On Saturday, we attended the 2010 FAAN Walk for Food Allergy at Wheeler Farm.

The weather was lovely, and the crowd seemed strong and spirited.  We were walking in support of our son, who is allergic to wheat, milk, tree nuts, egg, oat, and sesame.  At nearly 3 years old, he may not have understood the full significance of the walk:

Why We Walk

• We walk to find a cure for food allergies.
• We walk to increase awareness of food allergy and the effect it has on a community.
• We walk to provide understanding, hope, and an opportunity for a child with food allergy to simply be a child.
• We walk to save a life!

- www.foodallergywalk.org

Nonetheless, he had a blast (and was delighted to delay naptime for such a special occasion).  Before the race, kids were kept entertained by fun activities like a bouncy house, face painting, and race cars to climb in and out of.  Representatives of organizations and companies such as UFAN, Enjoy Life, and EpiPen were on hand to answer questions and hand out goodies.  All walkers had the opportunity to enter their tickets into a number of raffle drawings. 

The walk itself was an easy stroll (gentle enough for this pregnant mama) around Wheeler Farm's dirt paths.  I would like to have had chatted with more families of kids with food allergies -- we really just stuck with our own family, as it seemed others may have done as well -- but overall, we had a fun day in support of a great cause.  Our little guy seemed to understand that he was surrounded by others who also could not eat certain foods, like wheat or egg ("...or cow's milk," he added in his adorable toddler voice, when we explained it to him).  This was our first FAAN walk, but something tells me that it won't be our last.


Lynn normally blogs at Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile, where she writes about her son's love of books and their recent entry into the world of pre-K homeschooling.