Food allergy walk will raise awareness
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

Afundraising walk is planned next month along the Long Branch oceanfront to increase public awareness about food allergies, which affect more than 12 million Americans.

The FAAN Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward a Cure is scheduled to be held in Long Branch on Sept. 7 to raise awareness, as well as funds, for food allergy education and research.

"People don't realize how hard it is," said Tim McLoone, owner of McLoone's Pier House and McLoone's Rum Runner, who is acting as honorary chairman of the event. "It's one of those situations that needs a light shone on it."

McLoone's daughter, Hannah, 7, has a peanut allergy and suffered a reaction to peanut butter as a toddler.

"She had a peanut butter cracker and ballooned right away," McLoone said, adding that he and his family have since been on guard at school, parties and other situations where food is served.

McLoone's daughter is one of nearly 100,000 New Jersey schoolchildren who have food allergies, which have no cure.

An estimated 150 to 200 people die every year from fatal reactions and another 30,000 people visit an emergency room to receive lifesaving treatment for food-induced anaphylaxis, according to the release.

The Walk for Food Allergy raises awareness and funds for food allergy education and research, according to a press release from The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN).

The allergy walks are held nationwide to support FAAN, the world's largest nonprofit organization providing information about food allergy to the media, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry and government officials, as well as the food-allergic community.

This year marks the first time the walk will be held in Long Branch. To register for the event or for more information, visit the Internet Web site at www.foodallergywalk. org/longbranch_nj.

The event is planned to start at the Great Lawn, north of Pier Village, at 10 a.m., with check-in for participants starting at 9 a.m.

Also planned for the event are food vendors with allergen-free samples, and entertainment will be provided by New Jersey rocker Ray Anderson, also known as mr. RAY, who will be headlining a concert following the walk.

Although Anderson's family is not personally affected by food allergies, he said he has met many parents who have made him aware of how serious and life-threatening food allergies can be.

"So many people whose children I entertain, they tell me about what they go through," Anderson said. "I walk into schools and there are signs everywhere: 'peanut-free.' "

Monmouth Beach resident Frank Dicopoulos, who plays the role of Frank Cooper on the CBS soap opera "Guiding Light," will be the master of ceremonies for the walk.

He said he was spurred to action by watching his friends deal with their children's severe food allergies.

"I've heard all the horror stories of parents dealing with peanut allergies and other allergies," said Dicopoulos. "It's scary. You never like to see your loved ones go through this."

Dicopoulos, who is also a spokesman for the American Cancer Society, has long been involved in charity work. He said many of his philanthropic efforts focus on children.

"Every child deserves a fair shot in life," he said.

FAAN was founded in 1991 and is the world leader in information about food allergy, a potentially fatal condition that afflicts approximately 12 million Americans, or one out of every 25 people, and is rapidly increasing in prevalence.

A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN has 30,000 members in the United States, Canada and 62 other countries. It is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergy and its consequences, to educating people about the condition, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by it.

FAAN provides information and educational resources about food allergy to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry and government officials.

For more information about FAAN, visit www.foodallergy.org, www.faankids.org and www.faanteen.org.