The editors at FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) graciously asked me and my son to write about his
recent class trip to Spain for FARE’s Spring newsletter. The article hit the
digital world this week, so I invite you to hop over to FARE’s website to read
about our trip. I wrote about the planning we did before the trip, and my son
wrote about his experiences during the trip. We had fun working together, and
we hope our story helps others contemplating travel with food allergies
this summer.
Whether you want to walk, sponsor a walker, or volunteer to
help out at the walk, we need you! The Walk is a family-friendly event that takes place in communities
nationwide to fund food allergy research, education, advocacy and awareness. We’re
happy that Salt Lake City is once again participating in this important event,
and we hope you’ll join us!
There are always
some fun activities and booths from food-allergy-related companies and vendors,
so you won’t want to miss out on this fun day.
Here are the details:
Date: Saturday, Oct 5, 2013
Walk Schedule:
Registration/Check-in: 1:00pm
Walk Ceremony: 2:00pm
Walk Begins: Immediately Following Ceremony
Walk Length: 2 miles
Location:Sugar House Park, Sugar Beet Pavilion, 1400 E. 2100 S., Salt Lake City, UT, 84115
This is a great way
to get some fresh air on a beautiful autumn day with family and friends, while
helping make a difference for all of those living with food allergies. Thank
you for being part of it, and see you there!
Bullying. It’s bad enough when it’s just mean-spirited and
emotionally painful. It’s even worse when it’s also life-threatening.
According to FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education),
studies show that about a third of all kids with food allergies say they’ve
been bullied because of their food allergies – that means they’ve been threatened
with or intentionally harmed by the allergenic food. Food allergy bullies have threatened
to touch the allergic child with the food, have smeared it on allergic kids, or
even tricked kids into eating something that the bullies have contaminated with
the dangerous food. All for a laugh.
How sick is that?
Being allergic to food means having to worry about the food
you eat, the food others eat around you, and the non-edible items in your
environment (like lotions, crafts, birdseed, or dog food) that might be
harboring your allergen. That’s a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week, anxiety-inducing way
of life. You shouldn’t have to add an additional worry that someone is going to
come after you with the food with intent to harm you.
A bully with a peanut-butter cracker is every bit as lethal
as a bully with a gun.
With all the emphasis these days on bullying, we need to
make sure everyone realizes that food-allergy bullying is a significant
problem, too.
That’s why FARE has launched a public awareness campaign about
food allergy bullying, and they’ve released a short video, called “It’s Not a Joke,”
designed to teach kids and parents who DON’T have food allergies how serious
the disease really is, and to encourage them to prevent food allergy bullying. The
video is narrated by FARE Celebrity Ambassador Kenton Duty, formerly of
Disney's "Shake it Up," who volunteered his talents for the PSA.
Share the video. Prevent food allergy bullying. And let’s
start a new wave of compassion and acceptance for everyone.
Here is a link to “It’s Not a Joke” on YouTube, or you can watch “It’s Not a Joke” on FARE’s website (www.foodallergy.org), where you can also find lots of resources and information about food allergies.
The editors at FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) graciously asked me and my son to write about his
recent class trip to Spain for FARE’s Spring newsletter. The article hit the
digital world this week, so I invite you to hop over to FARE’s website to read
about our trip. I wrote about the planning we did before the trip, and my son
wrote about his experiences during the trip. We had fun working together, and
we hope our story helps others contemplating travel with food allergies
this summer.
