New Food Allergy Restaurant Review Website

Greetings Support Group Leaders,   To introduce myself, up until a year and a half ago, I was News Coverage Manager at CNN's Washington Bureau where beyond my daily news responsibilities I produced many stories on food allergies with chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can find online some of the TV transcripts and CNN.com articles I wrote on the subject, including a report on Sabrina Shannon, which won a number of journalism awards, including from FAAN.   I became interested in the subject after my daughter was diagnosed with multiple food allergies (at the time, allergic to all major allergens + a few). I'm writing you as I'm in the process of launching a website where families with food allergic kids/parents can write reviews about restaurants they visit. There are fantastic online resources reviewing restaurants and hotels, (Tripadvisor, Yelp, VirtualTourist, etc.) but because I couldn’t find any that consolidated the experiences of those with food allergies, I decided to create an interactive database where we can review restaurants, hotels, airlines, and kid-friendly venues (like Disney). Wouldn’t it be great to give a shout out to a place that did a great job helping your child have a safe meal, or warn others of a place to stay away from at all cost? The web address is www.lonelyplate.org. I'm asking friends and food allergy support group members to publish the first posts or send me (so I can post for them) reviews of businesses they've visited. This kind of information-sharing is crucial not only to keep each other safe but also can be a message to restaurants that we are a consumer community worth catering to. Among the Washington, D.C. support group members, we have been exchanging this kind of information for years (as I know many of you do in your locales), but we never shared this information with food allergic families in other cities and countries, something I aim to accomplish. Looking forward to hearing from you. I’d appreciate it if you could distribute this email to your group members. Best wishes, Sharona Schwartz

NCFD Donation!

The New Castle Fire Department has donated $300.00 to the our group from their holiday charitable fund. Many thanks to volunteer firefighter Mark Syracusa and all members of the NCFD for the generous support.

Valentine's Day Party Tips

Ask the teacher to request that parents do not put candy in the valentines which will be passed out to students. Encourage parents to bring in non-food items for the party (example: stickers, heart-shaped erasers, rings, bracelets, etc.) Bring a safe treat for your child to eat during the party. Check all the valentines for candy/chocolates before giving them to your child.  Many cards come with candy attached to them. Instead of the party being focused on treats, suggest that the students play games with a Valentine's Day theme. (Example: Instead of 'Duck, Duck, Goose' they could play 'Heart, Heart, Cupid!' OR instead of 'Hot Potato', they could play, 'Sweet Heart' the words might go like this: Sweet Heart, Sweet Heart, round and round, where you stop, love is found. The student left holding the heart is out and the play continues passing a heart around the room. Volunteer to help with the party so you can supervise, especially during snack time. Teach your child to politely say, 'No thank you, I have food allergies.' to people offering candy or treats without proper labeling. Ask the teacher and parents involved with the party planning if the class could participate in some valentine crafts (paper bouquets, heart-shaped wreaths, etc.) instead of focusing on the candy/treats. Remember to speak to the teacher and the parents before the party about your child's food allergies...just a friendly reminder. Send your child with ALL the proper medications in case of an emergency.

Tips for Educating Children w/ FA (from FWFA.org)

Tips for Educating Children with Food Allergies Teach your child how to read food labels properly for specific food allergens AND remind him/her to read the label EVERYTIME. Cook and bake with your child...make it fun and educational. Explain that many allergens are listed under different names.  Review these 'other names' with your child. (example: peanuts may also be called goober nuts, ground nuts, earth nuts, etc.) Practice with your epinephrine trainer.  When it's age-appropriate, it's very important for your child to practice administering epinephrine with his/her trainer. Keep lines of communication open with your child.  It is crucial for your child to be able to talk about his/her feelings with you. Remind your child to always 'say no' to food that is in question or that does not have a label. Answer any questions your child may have about his/her food allergies.  If you don't know the answer, ask your allergist.  Stay informed and share your education with your child. Stay positive!  Having a positive outlook is extremely important when children are involved.  They are entitled to have hope and happiness regardless of their medical situation.

"Have Kitchen, Will Ski" from Allergic Living

Allergies, Travel: Safe Skiing

Allergy Friendly Recipe's Contest

Hello Everyone,

Win Food and Fame in the First Annual “Allergy Free” Food Recipe Contest!

Do you have that fantastic recipe that your family just RAVES about? Do you think you have what it takes to beat out the competition and win with it? Allergiesandme.com wants to know.

The online store, Allergiesandme.com, is offering three lucky winners the chance to win a shopping spree in their store and, for the lucky First Place Winner, an autographed copy of Kelly Rudnicki’s “Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book” cookbook. Ms. Rudnicki has just released this fantastic recipe compilation full of great Dairy-free, Egg-free and Nut-free treats for the whole family.

The rules are simple. Submit an allergen-free recipe with one of the top food allergy restrictions and you could win shopping coupons of up to $150! This would help stock your pantry with many of the allergen free foods and mixes offered at www.allergiesandme.com. For more about the contest rules, go to the Allergiesandme.com homepage and follow the Recipe Contest link. This contest ends February 28^th, 2010.

So, warm up your baking pans, put on your lucky apron and share your favorite winning recipe. The Team at Allergiesandme.com wishes all of you good luck and Happy “Allergy Free” Cooking.

 Jamie Stern

 www.AllergiesAndMe.com

  

  813.641.7850

Research Study of a Coping Skills Group for Children with Food Allergy

We are pleased to pass along an announcement from Children's Hospital, Boston
about research on coping skills for children with food allergies.

See description below, including contact information, if you are interested in having your child participate.

Research Study of a Coping Skills Group for Children with Food Allergy

Children's Hospital Boston is conducting a research study to investigate the usefulness of a group program for children with food allergy ages 9 to 12 years and their parents. The group is designed to help children develop coping skills to manage food allergies, as well as manage stress and anxiety that can go along with having food allergies.  We hope that results of the study will help us to improve the services offered to children with food allergies and their families in the future.

If you participate in the study, you and your child will be asked to attend four 90-minute group sessions at Children's Hospital Boston.  Additionally, you and your child will be asked to attend two other study visits at Children's Hospital Boston: the first within two weeks prior to the first group session, and the second about a month after the last group session. During these visits, you will be asked to complete questionnaires about your child's medical history and the impact of food allergy on your and your child's quality of life. Your child will be asked to complete questionnaires about the impact of food allergies on quality of life, attitudes about food allergies, and confidence in completing allergy management tasks.  The study questionnaires will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. There is no cost to participate in the study.  Participating families will receive parking vouchers and gift certificates.

This research is being conducted by Jennifer LeBovidge, Ph.D., Michael Pistiner, M.D., M.M.Sc., and Lynda Schneider, M.D.  If you are interested in participating or have questions, please contact the study coordinator at (617) 355-2195.