Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary During Food Allergy Awareness Week

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is celebrating 20 years of service this month with a benefit dinner, to be held May 16th at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington, D.C. The event is being held to honor individuals who have worked to make a difference in the lives of those with food allergies in the past 20 years of the organization's history.

The celebration is being held during 2012's Food Allergy Awareness Week, first celebrated by FAAN 15 years ago, reports Market Watch. A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented t o FAAN founder Anne Munoz-Furlong, who launched FAAN after her daughter was diagnosed with food allergies and she found few resources or support organizations in the community.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network will also honor others who have made a difference in the lives of families dealing with food allergies, including FAAN Celebrity Ambassador Trace Adkins and his wife Rhonda; and the sponsors of the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, which would encourage schools to have epinephrine readily available for the treatment of allergic reactions.

Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network is the world's largest organization for information and resources for food allergies. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Virginia, FAAN is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergies. Last week, FAAN announced that it plans to merge with the Food Allergy Initiative, another leading food allergy organization.