The celebration – fittingly, during Food Allergy Awareness Week, which was created by FAAN 15 years ago – will include a presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to FAAN founder Anne Muñoz-Furlong, who created the organization after her daughter was diagnosed with food allergies and she found little support or resources.
FAAN will also honor country music star and FAAN Celebrity Ambassador Who Cares Trace Adkins and his wife Rhonda Adkins; the original sponsors of the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN); Washington Capitals hockey player Tom Poti; Walmart Vice President of Food Safety Frank Yiannas; and award-winning celebrity chef Art Smith, who created a special menu for the occasion.
Each of the honorees is being recognized for all they have done to make life better for families with food allergies. Hoyer, Roe, Smith, and Yiannas will be among those present at the event to accept their awards.
Among the other attendees are Laura Pendleton and Brian Hom, parents who both lost their children as a result of fatal food allergy reactions. Pendleton and Hom, along with honored guest Kenton Dut, star of Disney’s “Shake it Up” and a FAAN Celebrity Ambassador Who Cares, are also scheduled to participate in a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill on May 16 to show their support for the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act (S. 1884/H.R. 3627). This pending
legislation encourages states to ensure that epinephrine is readily accessible in schools for the treatment of potentially fatal anaphylactic reactions.
Since FAAN was founded, it has achieved a number of milestones on behalf of the food allergy community in the areas of awareness, education, advocacy, and research. From the creation of school and restaurant training programs, to its work in helping secure the passage of critical legislation such as the Food Allergen and Labeling Consumer Protection Act and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, FAAN has been at the center of efforts to improve the lives of the 15 million people in the U.S. with food allergies.
“As the mother of a daughter who is anaphylactic to peanuts, I know first-hand how daunting this diagnosis can be to a family, even today. But imagine that same diagnosis 20 years ago, when the safety net and leadership provided by FAAN that so many of us have come to rely on was not there,” said FAAN executive Maria Acebal. “I want to take this opportunity to personally say ‘thank you’ to all that have come before me for making this world a safer place for my daughter, and the millions of kids like her.”
