Thank you Governor Snyder, for declaring this week Food Allergy Awareness Week in Michigan!
What are you doing to promote food allergy awareness? We'd love to hear from you! 
http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-57577_59874-277370--,00.html
 

Check out this new resource.  This is a great tool for spreading awareness.  Visit www.allergenfreehalloween.org today and spread the word!

Do you have any tips or tricks for Halloween!  Any new Candy finds?  How are you handling school parties?  Share your ideas here by offering comments!



 

The FACES (Food Allergic Children Education and Support) group in Macomb County will be showing the documentary "I'm Not Nuts: Living With Food Allergies" on November 6th.  Attached please find a flyer with details.

Look for more information regarding a showing in November by COFAF.  That event will be held in Birmingham.

11.6.08_faces_special_event.pdf
File Size: 22 kb
File Type: pdf
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I recently received the following information from AAFA Michigan:

The Chefs of the Future competition is fast approaching!   This is a unique culinary competition being held in Wixom on Oct. 30 that promises to be entertaining as well as educational.  

The Food Allergy Community should be interested in supporting this historic event and we need your help!   Please, we encourage you to attend and show your support for AAFA and improving food allergy conditions in our community!  

I've attached the event flyer and press release for information.  We have several local celebrity judges and Sherry Margolis from Fox 2 News as our hostess – should be a fun evening…   Hurry!  Limited number of tickets available (order by phone or online.)  See you there!



chefs_of_the_future_announcement_101.30.08.pdf
File Size: 178 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

 

You've been busy.  There are now 244 walkers registered who have raised just over $10,000.  Great!!!

We've added some new sponsors:
Allergy & Immunology Associates of Ann Arbor - Gold
Allergy & Asthma Care, PC - M.N. Savliwala, MD - Route Marker
Grosse Pointe Allergy & Asthma Center - Health
UPS - Health
Rock and Melissa Dalton - Honor Someone You Love Message

 

Registration has opened for the 2008 FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in Milford.  The walk will be on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at Kensington Metropark (Maple Beach*).  Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. and the official Walk starts at 10:00 a.m.  You can pre-register and begin raising funds online at www.foodallergywalk.org.  To date there are 244 Walkers registered online and they've raised approximately $10,000.  We have a goal of $70,000 so we have raised 14% of goal so far.  We'd like to thank the sponsors and in-kind donations we've received to date:

Sponsors
Crayons - Silver
Sciele Pharma, Inc. - Silver
SunGold Foods - Bronze
Enjoy Life Foods - Bronze
Mark G. Frizzo, DDS, PLLC - Health

In-Kind
Jammin DJ's
TNT Inflatables
Skindell Magic
Hiller's Markets
VGs Foods
The Kroger Company

 

Michigan children with food allergy and/or eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) may enter our COFAF Kids 1st Annual Poster and Writing Contest between now and April 30, 2008 when all entries are due.  Based upon age, they may enter into three categories:  Poster, Essay and Poetry.  The winners will be announced during Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) which falls between May 11 and 17 this year.  The prizes (books, DVDs and other fun food allergy related items) awarded in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each age category are funded by a support group grant awarded by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.  We hope you'll get involved.

 

A local producer, Kevin Lindenmuth, is in the process of producing a documentary about food allergies, entitled "I'm Not Nuts: Living with Severe Allergies".  Kevin has two nieces with allergies to peanuts and tree nuts.  Please check out this article from The Livingston Community News.  Kevin was out to interview my family for the documentary.  In addition to interviewing other local families, he's also interviewed Dr. Harvey Leo, our medical director, and he's been to Virginia to interview Anne Munoz-Furlong of The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.  We are planning to work with Kevin to have him gain some footage from one of our meetings or events between now and July.  This way he will have some support group footage for the documentary.  Check out Kevin's website for more information about the documentary and his previous works.

Thanks, Kevin, for taking on this cause!  We greatly appreciate someone stepping up to the plate to educate others.  Educating others is truly one of the most important tools we have and this documentary will help make it easier for us.  We can't wait to see the finished product.

- Melissa Dalton

 

If you're like me, you need to get moving on Easter treats.  Here are some sources:

These first few companies, I've ordered from on numerous occassions and can personally recommend.

Gimbal's Fine Candies:  They have a larger assortment.  You can find their jelly beans at Walmart.  Many of their products are Kosher Pareve, Nut/Peanut Free, Gelatin Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Egg Free and Trans Fat Free.

Divvies: Divvies sells cookies and cupcakes.  This year they are featuring chocolate rabits too that are peanut, tree nut, egg, and dairy free.

Amanda's Own:  "The home of great tasting chocolate that is completely dairy-free, tree nut-free, peanut free, egg-free and gluten-free!".  They have a wide assortment of foil wrapped seasonal shapes, full bars and of course, the coveted bunnies.

Below are more sources (that I haven't ordered from, but that might work for you).

Ms. Roben's, Food Allergy Solutions
Natural Candy Store
No Nuttin'
Soy Free Sales
Vermont Nut Free

 

That's right - there are new muffin mixes on the market that are free from milk, egg, peanut and tree nuts.  Meraby's Allergy Family Foods brings to you boxed muffin mix in 2 flavors, Classic Blueberry and Cranberry Orange.  They do contain wheat and they list they may contain traces of soy.  The Cranberry Orange mix has sunflower oil in it.  We recently received 2 sample boxes.  I made the Classic Blueberry.  They were very moist.  If I make them in the future, I would probably add more blueberries to get more blueberry flavor.  They tasted great with a hint of blueberry.  I just happen to make a more hearty blueberry muffin.  Very very quick and easy to make - just add water and oil and pour into your paper lined muffin tins.  Melinda has the Cranberry Orange and is going to try the alternative recipe on the box to make pancakes.  That's right - you can make these muffin mixes into pancakes too.  Enjoy.

-Melissa Dalton