Food Allergy Families of the Triad provides food allergy education, support and allergen free activities for the Triad communities under Medical Advisor, Dr. Jason W. Food Allergy Families of the Triad is a non-profit association dedicated to increasing community awareness about food allergies, offering free monthly educational seminars and organizing allergen friendly community events under Medic
al Advisor Dr. Jason Caldwell DO of Wake Forest Baptist Health. After our son was diagnosed with multiple life threatening food allergies, it became apparent leaving my job in marketing was the best choice for our family. Inspired by our personal journey, a desire to utilize my business and marketing experience and a passion to contribute to the greater good of society, I formed Food Allergy Families of the Triad (FAFT) in August of 2012. Since that time, I am pleased to say we have been warmly embraced in many areas of our local community as we have gained the support of community members, medical practices and local business. FAFT has strict high standards as all seminar presenters must meet to ensure only the most up to date and evidence based information is being shared. For example, allergists must be board certified and anyone speaking on the topic of nutrition must be a registered dietician. The seminars we have offered include, “Food Allergy 101” lead by Dr. Caldwell DO, “Managing an Allergen Free Diet” lead by Gloria Bartelt MPH, RD, LDN, “The Truth About Food Labeling Laws” lead by Mark Gillis, CEO of Good Health Natural Products and “Section 504 Plans” lead by Clara Chavez, 504 Coordinator for WSFCS. In addition to educational seminars, we have had great success “getting the word out about food allergies” in other community venues. Made possible by a generous donation by a community member, we purchased and donated 9 children's food allergy books to the Forsyth County Library System. After meeting with the Education Director at The Children's Museum of Winston-Salem to discuss what we could do together to raise awareness, they added two children's food allergy books to their library, we have organized a food allergy focused story time, a FAFT Circus themed event (free of any food products to ensure the safety and inclusion of all food allergic children) and we are still in the planning stages of other programs to be rolled out in the next 6 months. I have facilitated two stories in the local news, with the News 14 Carolina story about Section 504 Plans running statewide, and am currently working on a story with Fox 8 News that will air in April. My 4 year old son and I had the pleasure of participating in “Walkertown, Let's Read to Make a Difference” where we read children's food allergy books to 100 students, distributed a food allergy awareness coloring page and worksheet and answered questions from the student body. We have accomplished a lot in only 7 months, but it's only the beginning. I am currently working with The Dash to organize an Allergen Free Baseball night where they will designate an area of the ballpark for FAFT and offer a customized allergen free menu. We will be participating in the Natural Triad Health Wellness & Green Living Show in Greensboro and the Kernersville Earth Day Celebration. I am also in the process of organizing “The First Annual Food Allergy Awareness Book Reading Tour”. During Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 12-18th, my son and I will visit local schools to read children's food allergy books, distribute coloring pages and worksheets and hold open discussions on what it's like to live with food allergies. I will be attending the FARE Leaders Summit and the FARE Food Allergy Conference in Chicago in May. We are looking forward to continuing our efforts to create a more educated and compassionate community. By continuing to offer educational opportunities, emotional support and trusted resources to the local food allergy community, community members will be able to make more informed choices for their families and themselves increasing their quality of life on many levels. And, through our continued efforts to get out in the community to start the conversations about food allergies, we hope to create a community that is more tolerant and supportive of the accommodations sometimes requested by members of the food allergy community. There are many ways to go about promoting change and we, as an organization, believe it is through education that we can open the eyes of our community, encourage social responsibility and bring awareness to a growing population and public health concern.
