Leading food allergy clinic offers 5 things you can do to raise awareness about food allergies during Food Allergy Awareness Week
Brooklyn, NY, May 13, 2024 – Latitude Food Allergy Care, the leading network of clinics providing life-changing testing and treatment, including oral immunotherapy (OIT), to help families with food allergies live more freely, celebrates the grand opening of its flagship Brooklyn clinic (32 Court Street) during Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 13-17). The open house for food allergy patients and their families will take place at the clinic on Tuesday, May 14, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Food Allergy Awareness Week offers food allergy patients and their families an opportunity to come together, share resources and spread awareness of food allergy issues among the broader community. To help raise awareness about food allergies, Latitude offers 5 things you can do during Food Allergy Awareness Week, including:
Share your story: Consider sharing your family’s experiences with food allergies in person, with friends and colleagues, or on social media, using hashtags like #FoodAllergyAwareness and #AllergyAlly. Storytelling is a powerful force for social change. In doing so, you can help others understand the reality of living with food allergies, inspire empathy in those around you and help spread awareness that treatment options are available.
Support allergy-friendly businesses: If you know a restaurant, bakery, or another food establishment that goes the extra mile to accommodate food allergy families, help spread the word on social media or consider writing a review on a review site like Yelp or Allergy Eats. In addition to supporting businesses that make things safer for people with food allergies, you’re creating more dialogue around the issue. Hopefully, other establishments will step up and take notice.
Educate yourself and others: Brush up on the facts and have a few resources you can point to so you can learn more and educate others. Familiarize yourself with the following sites to get started:
- American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)
- Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE)
- The Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern
If you’re not already a member of a support group, either locally or online, now is a good time to make that connection. The Latitude Facebook group is an excellent source of support. Kids With Food Allergies (KWFA) — a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) — also offers forums and newsletters with the latest food allergy news.
Explore the latest testing and treatment options: Complete testing, including oral food challenges when appropriate, can ensure that families are not unnecessarily avoiding foods. In addition, treatment options such as oral immunotherapy (OIT) and the biologic Xolair may offer a proactive path forward to help those burdened with food allergies move beyond their daily physical and emotional limitations.
Advocate for policy changes: Stay informed about the latest policy developments in the food safety space and lend your voice to petitions and public commenting. Consider lobbying your local and national government representatives for better food labeling laws, increased funding for food allergy research and more comprehensive school policies. Earlier this year, the EPIPEN Act of 2024 was introduced in Congress in an effort to cap the price of epinephrine autoinjectors. There is momentum for the price of asthma medications — critical for many people with food allergies — to also be capped. Organizations such as FARE, FAACT and the Elijah-Alavi Foundation keep the public up-to-date with FDA approvals for new medications and advocate for food allergy-friendly legislation locally and nationally.
For more information about Latitude Food Allergy Care, visit latitudefoodallergycare.com.
