by Kelley Barnett If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me how to "do the Teal Pumpkin Project", I would be rich! I am excited to share with you how easy and affordable it is to include ALL children on Halloween. Join the Food Allergy Alliance of the Mid-South in turning the Mid-South teal this Halloween! Started in Tennessee... Food allergy mom and director of the Food Allergy Community of East TN, Becky Basalone, started painting pumpkins teal in the fall of 2012. She wanted all children to enjoy trick-or-treating in her Knoxville community and came up with the idea to paint pumpki ..read more

by Kelley Barnett Last weekend, FAAM hosted the first camp for kids diagnosed with food allergies in the Mid-South! FAAM parents and children ages 4-14 came to camp for Taekwondo, calm kits, parent chats and the splash pad. Camp was food-free which allowed attendees to relax and have fun; a luxury not fully experienced by individuals diagnosed with food allergies in traditional camp settings. Campers learned basic Taekwondo moves and broke boards with Hardin's Southwind Taekwondo. Martial arts is a good sport for learning body awareness and confidence, things some of our children often strugg ..read more

by Kelley Barnett The Food Allergy Alliance of the Mid-South (FAAM) hosted its first virtual 5K fundraiser, June 10-16, 2018. FAAM is 100% volunteer-run. We have no employees; our board, officers, presenters and volunteers all work from their hearts. We are grateful those hearts are HUGE and have the capacity to love and support our food allergy community the way they do. The work we do requires funding, and while we receive grants, they do not cover everything we do. That's where our wonderful community, and people in communities across 7 states, chose to give us support that was overwhelmin ..read more

by Janette Kennedy, MAEd I painted this picture when I was expecting my daughter. There are cute little footprints coming out of the river, and my hope of seeing her summit her dreams. Most of the picture, though, is the cover of the jungle: the insects and upturned leaves that hide the unknown that she will travel through in this life.  As parents, one of our most important jobs is preparing our kids to navigate a world we can’t always see, and sometimes, one that we struggle ourselves to make sense of. Already, her world is so different than mine. She has life-threatening allergies. I ..read more

Interview with Nubian Simmons The following are my life experiences and my opinions. They are not intended to offend or offer medical advice.   1. What are you allergic to, and when were you diagnosed?  I am allergic to milk (age 15) and wheat (age 34). I can remember being 6 or 7 and always at the doctor’s office getting tested. I do not know how prevalent food allergies were 30 years ago, but my mom, a retired nurse, was determined to figure it out. Once we realized it was the milk, she searched to find anything I could eat or drink that would not cause a reaction. As far as the ..read more

Halloween can certainly feel tricky when families that manage food allergies go trick-or-treating. Read these helpful tips from veteran food allergy families to help sweeten the holiday with your little goblins. You'll also find a printable scavenger hunt we created for you and links to several candy guides.  Manage Expectations Let your child know in advance what to expect from their trick-or-treating adventure. Remind them every time you chat about Halloween leading up to the big day. Statements as simple as, "I can't wait for Halloween either! We'll have so much fun seeing ..read more

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me how to "do the Teal Pumpkin Project", I would be rich! I am excited to share with you how easy and affordable it is to include ALL children on Halloween. Join the Food Allergy Alliance of the Mid-South in turning the Mid-South teal this Halloween! Started in Tennessee... Becky Basalone, food allergy mom and Founder/Director of the Food Allergy Community of East TN, started painting pumpkins teal in the fall of 2012. She wanted all children to enjoy trick-or-treating in her Knoxville community and came up with the idea to ..read more

by Kelley Barnett Neither rain, nor more rain, stopped us from having a TEALly good time at this year's Teal Pumpkin Trunk-or-Treat! Families from 3 states braved the rain to safely enjoy this fun, food-free holiday. Our lil' goblins showed off their costumes in this year's parade, made Halloween tote bags, played spooky festival games, and showed their competitive sides in a "skull race". This event isn't just for kids, oh no, parents look forward to our games each year too and this year was no different. One thing that was different, however, was our trick-or-treating stations ..read more

by Kelley Barnett Easter 2020 is going to be like no other! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting quarantine, we are going to have to be resourceful and get creative. It can be done! Just remember this: if Easter or Passover look a little -or a lot- different this year, that's okay! Think outside of last year's Easter basket for new takes on old traditions, or make new ones entirely (or even just for this year, let's call them "Traditions-In-Place" maybe?). First Things First: The Menu Grocery shopping and holiday menus can be challenging for food allergy families any day; throw ..read more

by Kelley Barnett If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me how to "do the Teal Pumpkin Project", I would be rich! I am excited to share with you how easy and affordable it is to include ALL children on Halloween. Join the Food Allergy Alliance of the Mid-South in turning the Mid-South teal this Halloween! Started in Tennessee... Becky Basalone, food allergy mom and Founder/Director of the Food Allergy Community of East TN, started painting pumpkins teal in the fall of 2012. She wanted all children to enjoy trick-or-treating in her Knoxville community and came up with the idea ..read more