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| November 5, 2008 |
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KFA Welcomes a New Board Member
I am very pleased to announce that Kristin Johnston has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Kids With Food Allergies. Kristin has a passion for the mission at KFA - her enthusiasm, sense of humor and strong interpersonal skills, coupled with her professional background in project management and in restructuring business models, will be a tremendous asset to KFA's Board decision-making and in leading KFA's Fundraising Team.
Kristin's educational background is in dance performance; she has also used her theater skills in community activities and advocacy programs for children and working with adolescents with special needs. Kristin grew up in a family that managed multiple severe food allergies and asthma, and she is now the parent of a child with life threatening food allergies and eosinophilic esophagitis. Kristin lives in southern California with her husband and their two children, Thomas and Molly. Welcome Kristin, and thank you!
Sincerely,
Lynda Mitchell
KFA President
Creating Better Lives Today Fundraising Drive
 Thanks so very much to all of you who've made donations to our Creating Better Lives Today™ fundraising campaign. Every donation has helped us move towards our goal of raising $50,000 to help our families and most of all, our children.
But we need more of you to help us, and invite you to take an active role to support our community and to make it stronger by donating as little as $5.00.
Your donation will help us get started on the following projects for 2009:
* New educational initiatives
* Member services improvements
* Recipe database upgrades
* System upgrades
* Local outreach programs
* Sponsored memberships for families in need
* And even more support offerings for families
Donate Before November 15th to help us reach our goal!
Thanks again!
 Fundraising and Donations For KFA
We want to extend a big thank you to the following businesses who've made donations or provided goods in-kind:
Whole Foods Markets for a check of $2,987.00 from 5% community day held in their North Wales, PA store in September!!!
Peanut Free Planet for setting up a booth and sending a cartoonist to do caricatures at no charge at the Amazinflates fundraiser for KFA in Tampa, FL in October.
Meraby Allergy Family Foods for sending a bag filled with products to give as a door prize.
Liberty Bakery for donating two gift certificates as door prizes and setting up a booth at the Amazinflates fundraiser.
Enjoy Life Foods, Cookies For Me? and Nonuttin' for sending samples to the winner of the recipe fundraiser event.
How to Enjoy the Holidays on an Allergy-Restricted Diet
Holidays can be stressful enough. But with so many seasonal functions centering around food, having a child with food allergies can be overwhelming. To help make the holidays more enjoyable, KFA has published this article (with permission) featuring an excerpt from the book, "Why Can't I Eat That! Helping Kids Obey Medical Diets," by John F. Taylor, Ph.D., and R. Sharon Latta.
 Helping kids obey their food restrictions during the holidays:
- Commit to the dietary guidelines.
- Involve your child by working together.
- Prepare your child to recognize unsafe foods during the holidays.
- Focus on non-food alternatives for celebration.
- Final preparations before the holidays.
Read full article
Additional Thanksgiving Resources
* Download "KFA Celebrates Thanksgiving" (Adobe PDF) for 12 food-free Thanksgiving crafts and activities, strategies for making dinner and school safe, and allergen-free recipes for pumpkin pie and stuffing.
* Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner: use our Safe Eats™ recipe database to find allergy-safe recipes for soups, stuffing, cranberry dishes, pumpkin pies and more!
Food Allergy Awareness Holiday Card Sale: Order by November 30th!
 Kids With Food Allergies holiday cards can be ordered now. Ask your friends and family if they'd like to order these cards as well to spread food allergy awareness!
Our Snowmen cards come in packages of 15 cards for $19 or 30 cards for $34. Prices include shipping. All proceeds go to funding our programs here at Kids With Food Allergies.
Artwork for each of the cards is by a child of a KFA member, and the layout is by a graphics designer who is also the mom of a food allergic child. Cards include a food allergy awareness message on the reverse side. We know you will really like these adorable cards!
Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations
Reported food allergy has increased among children of all ages in the United States over the last 10 years. Nationally representative survey data corroborates reports of increasing food allergy in the United States, and our findings are similar to those reported in other countries. There is some difference in reported food allergy according to Hispanic ethnicity, with lower reported rates among Hispanic children compared with non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black children. However, reported food allergy does not appear to differ by sex.
Children with food allergy are two to four times as likely to experience other allergic conditions and asthma than children without food allergy. This is of great importance as children with coexisting food allergy and asthma may be more likely to experience anaphylactic reactions to foods and be at higher risk of death.
Hospitalizations having at least one diagnosis related to food allergy also increased from 1998-2000 through 2004-2006. This finding could be related to increased awareness, reporting, and use of specific medical diagnostic codes for food allergy or could represent a real increase in children who are experiencing food-allergic reactions.
Discuss on POFAK forums
Early Peanut Consumption May Prevent Peanut Allergy
Professor Gideon Lack, a pediatric allergy specialist at Kings College London and lead author of a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that children who avoided peanut in infancy and early childhood were 10 times as likely to develop peanut allergy as those who were exposed to peanut. This research casts doubt on recommendations for mothers and infants to avoid peanut consumption to prevent the development of peanut allergy.
Discuss on POFAK forums
Drinking Milk to Ease Milk Allergy?
Giving children with milk allergies increasingly higher doses of milk over time may ease, and even help them completely overcome, their allergic reactions, according to the results of a study led by the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and conducted jointly with Duke University.
Discuss on POFAK forums
A message from Our Sponsor
Click on the image above to visit the Web site of this month's newsletter sponsor
Sign up for a free Associate Membership to read the messages posted in our "Main" online support group forum.
Horrible experience at the gym
"So today a mom comes in and her son is holding a granola bar. I look at the bar and she says "I don't know if there are peanuts in this, is the peanut kid even here today?". Um, yeah, I said...She storms out of the room and starts talking to the gym owner and two other people and I overhear the gym owner saying "gosh, what is she a peanut nazi, give me a break". I walked up and said "is there a problem, can I answer any of your questions about peanut allergies?". Long story short I got so upset and started crying and walked away."
Situations like this are so upsetting to those of us having to deal with insensitive people who just don't "get it." How would you handle it?
My son had an anaphylactic reaction today!
"My oldest ds had an anaphylactic reaction today to at school. A friend gave him a piece of candy. The friend had just finished eating some cheese popcorn and then touched the candy. Ds opened the candy and obviously got the milk protein on his hand and then the candy and then he put it in his mouth. He started having symptoms within fifteen minutes of eating the candy and went down to the office. The nurse wasn't in Mad and so the school secretary asked what was wrong and he said I think I am having an allergic reaction to a piece of candy."
Read and discuss some lessons learned after a reaction at school when a student's Food Allergy Action Plan wasn't followed when he had a reaction at school.
Be sure to visit the Allergy Buyer's Guide section of our Web site to see a growing list of businesses that provide allergy-friendly products and services!
Advertisements
Click on the banner to visit the Meraby Family Foods Web Site
New! Fab Snacks
Making brown-bagging-it a little easier for those with food allergies. Favorite peanut-free, tree nut-free, dairy-free, wheat-free and/or gluten-free snacks selected by our food allergy family.
Candles with Meaning
ATTENTION HOLIDAY SHOPPERS! Candles With Meaning offers unique, soot-free candles which make wonderful gifts. Experience "The Hottest New Thing In Candles"! Holiday shopping that makes a difference! CWM is thrilled to be donating a portion of its revenue to KFA!
Enjoy Life Foods
At Enjoy Life, our whole business is making smile-good foods that keep your insides happy too. Gluten-free and free of the eight most common allergens, our cookies, snack bars, granolas, trail mixes, bagels, chocolate chips and NEW chocolatey bars are yummy! To learn more and download valuable coupons, visit www.enjoylifefoods.com.
Sunbutter
SUNBUTTER® is made from sunflower seeds, contains NO peanuts or tree nuts and is produced in a peanut and tree nut free facility. We even test every batch for any traces of peanuts. SunButter is healthier than peanut butter with 1/3 less saturated fat and is high in vitamin E. Tastes great too!
Awareness Badges
Medicine bags with "Action Plan", luggage & lunchbox tags, vinyl stickers. In a moment of crisis make sure that others know what to do if your child has an allergic reaction. Visit www.awarenessbadges.com and enter promotional code back2school for savings.
Pamela's Products
Pamela's Products makes the best gluten-free foods. Try our delicious cookies like crunchy Ginger Mini Snapz, chewy Peanut Butter or decadent Chunky Chocolate Chip. Enjoy Fast, Easy & Delicious Baking mixes that bake up easily. Available in natural food and grocery stores, or check www.pamelasproducts.com for online retailers.
 The following foods were recently recalled. Check our Web site for complete details:
U.S. allergy recalls
- Nonna's Real Italiana Cuccine: Stuffed Artichokes (undeclared milk, soy, and wheat)
- Harry and David: Moose Munch Confection, Milk Chocolate Gingerbread (undeclared pecans)
- General Mills: Progresso Hearty Tomato Soup (undeclared milk, soy, and egg)
- Jolly Good Meat Products: Jolly Good Banger Sausage Rolls (undeclared egg)
Canadian allergy recalls
- Cedar Phoenicia: Greek Golden Peppers (undeclared sulfites)
Disclaimer
This newsletter is provided to you as a member and subscriber benefit and your use of it is in accordance with our Web site's terms of service.
Recipes are shared for your personal use only. You are welcome to forward this e-newsletter to others, but please don't reprint, electronically reproduce, repost or redistribute recipes elsewhere without obtaining permission. For more information, see our terms of service.
Kids With Food Allergies Inc. makes no representation, whatsoever, for the contents that may be contained in any of the sponsors or advertisers in this newsletter or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any ad.
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Copyright © 2008, Kids With Food Allergies, Inc., all rights reserved. ISSN 1939-8166
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Project Manager: Lynda Mitchell
Editor: Melanie Carver
Proofreaders: Amy Hugon, Becca Godleski and Melanie Croft
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