Long Island Report

Though most people spend their autumn Sundays relaxing or watching football, nearly 3,000 Long Islanders turned out Sunday Oct. 9 to walk three miles around Eisenhower Park for a Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) charity sponsored event.

For the past 20 years, the FAAN has been working to raise public awareness about food allergies and anaphylaxis, a serious rapid-onset allergic reaction.

Participants at the FAAN Walk at Eisenhower Park on Oct. 9 (LIR photo by Stella Huang)

The walkers raised over $30,000 on the day of the event, which averages to about $10 per person. Coupled with $95,000 pledged through the online campaign, over $125,000 will go toward FAAN research.

Lesley Bank, an Old Bethpage resident, said her team walked for her 4-year-old grandson Ethan, who is allergic to dairy, sesame seeds and all nuts.

“We joined the walk and donated money to help raise money for food allergy research,” she said.

Established in Fairfax, Va. in 1991, the FAAN hosts charity walks in 45 cities annually, including Chicago, Philadelphia and San Diego. The organization’s mission statement is “to work diligently to educate the public about the severity of food allergy and provide the food allergy community with tools and programs that it deserves.”

Currently, incurable food allergies plague over 12 million Americans.

For information on upcoming FAAN charity walks and locations, visit the website’s walks page. The next nearest walk takes place Oct. 23 in Ridgewood, N.J.

Written by: Stella Huang on October 11, 2011.