The Monmouth County Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure will be held Sept. 7 in Long Branch on a beautiful site along an approximate 3-mile route able to accommodate strollers. There will be post-walk family fun celebrations and activities for all registered walkers and volunteers.

The FAAN Walk for Food Allergy events, which have been held across the country since 2003, raise funds to support FAAN's efforts in food allergy public awareness, advocacy, education, and research. This will be the first walk held in Monmouth County .

The co-chairs for this event, Veronica Scanlon and Jo Ann Molnar held the kick off planning meeting on Jan. 17 to recruit committee volunteers. There are four committees: Sponsorship, Logistics, Publicity and Recruitment, each with its own chair position available. Chair positions are greatly supported by the Long Branch co-chairs and FAAN staff. FAAN facilitates phone conferencing for Walk committees (e.g., Logistics, Sponsorship). FAAN staff also participates in these calls to help the committees determine best practices. An overview of the committee tasks is outlined below.

Thank you to Martin D. Fried, MD FAAP, a physician nutrition specialist, who spoke at our most recent meeting on Jan. 9.

Dr. Fried answered many varied questions from the group relating to nutrition, allergies and digestion. His advice included moderation is the key to all dietary habits; milk is not a necessary component to a healthy diet, nutrients in milk can be gotten from a variety of other foods; and one of the best ways to determine if a child is getting adequate nutrition is if he/she is gaining the proper amount weight. For more information about Dr. Fried, view his Web site at www.healthydays.info .

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The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Coalition of NJ has reported that Governor Corzine signed S2905 / A4617 into law on January 3, 2008.

This law clarifies a provision of P.L. 2007, c. 57, concerning the emergency administration of epinephrine to students for anaphylaxis.

P.L. 2007, c. 57, provides that a certified school nurse in consultation with the board of education or the chief school administrator of the nonpublic school must recruit and train volunteer designees to administer epinephrine for anaphylaxis when the school nurse is not physically present. However, nonpublic schools are not required by law to employ certified school nurses. Therefore, S2905 /A4617 provides that in the case of a nonpublic school, it would be the school nurse, in consultation with the chief school administrator of the school, who would be required to recruit and train the volunteer designees.

The full text of the legislation can be read at the N.J. Legislature's Web site

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On Oct. 27, the Food Allergy Support Group of Monmouth County (FASGMC) hosted its annual Halloween party for children with food allergies.

According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), 3.1 million children under the age of 18 suffer from food allergies. FAAN estimates that more than 30,000 emergency room visits and 150 to 200 deaths are the result of a food allergy each year.

Parents and children must be especially vigilant on Halloween, as many of the most common food allergens are often found in candy. Classroom parties and trick-or-treating can be confusing as Halloween-sized treats often don't have ingredients labels, or the labels they do have are confusing.

Many children with severe allergies forgo trick-or-treating altogether.

FASGMC hosts a food-free party each October to take the focus of the holiday away from food and to put the focus on fun. This years' party was a great success. More than 25 children with food allergies, along with their families and friends, painted pumpkins, played games and watched a magic show.

It took many people to make this wonderful day happen and FASGMC would like to thank them. For the third year, King of Kings Church , Middletown , allowed us to hold the party in its building and donated arts and craft supplies; Delicious Orchards , Colts Neck, donated pumpkins for the children to paint; and The Bashore family , Belford, donated water for the thirsty partygoers.

Thank you also to our organizers Lisa Cronin, Angie Frankovic, Ginny Smith and Kim Wester, whose hard work made this day happen.

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Tune in Thursday nights to the "Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC at 9:00 p.m. to see Trace Adkins competing in business driven tasks around New York City to raise money and awareness for FAAN, his designated charity. To learn more, view http://www.foodallergy.org/traceadkins.html