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Fairfield County Founders Of E.A.T. Share Back-To-School Food Allergy Tips

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Back to school means thinking about how to manage your child's food allergies as he/she heads back to the classroom.

The Bates family of Fairfield.

The Bates family of Fairfield.

Photo Credit: Submitted
The Hall family of Stamford.

The Hall family of Stamford.

Photo Credit: Submitted

The facts on food allergies are staggering: think more than 17 million cases with 90,000 cases of anaphylaxis in the U.S. every year; one in 13 children has a food allergy.

A chance meeting at a local support group got Stamford mom Kim Hall and Fairfield mom Elise Bates talking. Both moms not only deal with their child's food allergies on a daily basis, but are determined to find a cure. 

Together, the two families founded E.A.T, a Fairfield-based organization that strives to bridge the $450 million gap in research into food allergies through donations. 

The two women also know their way around the school cycle. Here are their tips for managing this condition as September approaches.

  • Check epinephrine and all allergy-related medicine expiration dates and refill if necessary for the school nurse.
  • Meet with your child’s allergist or pediatrician and update the school’s Medication Authorization Form, which includes emergency protocols, and/or the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan.
  • Schedule meetings with your child's school principal, nurse and new teachers to discuss specifics of your child's condition.  
  • Meet with the cafeteria managers to review school menus, ingredient lists and any changes that may have been made since the prior year.
  • Find some new recipes for the monotonous lunch box. It's easy to get in a real rut of cycling through the same lunch options each week.

For more details about E.A.T, go to www.endallergiestogether.com/.

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