Training Programs

FARE has a variety of resources designed for specific audiences such as school professionals, health professionals, and restaurant and food industry professionals.

These tools are available to help you in turn teach staff members the essentials behind food allergy management to help individuals safe from reactions. FARE will be adding resources to this section of our website in 2013. Some of the resources found here are published under the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network name. We will be rebranding many of our materials in the coming year.

Schools

• How to C.A.R.E.^™ for Students with Food Allergies: What Educators Should Know: This FREE online interactive course teaches educators how to prepare for food allergy and anaphylaxis. It is specifically great for school personnel – administrators, nurses, teachers, and other staff – in the United States
• Online Food Allergy Toolkit for School Nurses: The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has been working on a joint grant from the Centers for Disease Control with FAAN and the National School Boards Association to develop resources for food allergy and anaphylaxis management in the school setting. The NASN Online Food Allergy Tool Kit is now available online at www.nasn.org/ToolsResources/FoodAllergyandAnaphylaxis. This toolkit includes algorithms to enhance the school nurse’s approach to planning and care, checklists, forms, and resources. Guidance documents will soon be added.
• Binky Goes Nuts: Understanding Peanut Allergies: The popular animated PBS children’s series Arthur explores food alleriges in an episode titled "Binky Goes Nuts." The DVD and educational activity unit can be used by teachers and parents to teach kids about food allergy, and teach them how to help make their schools a safer place.

Additionally, FARE’s Safe@School program, designed to enable school nurses or administrators to conduct in-service training about food allergies and anaphylaxis,  is available for purchase from FARE. Please call FARE at (800) 929-4040 or email info@foodallergy.org for more information on Safe@School, the School Food Allergy Program and other resources.

Restaurant Industry

With approximately 15 million Americans affected by food allergies, restaurants are increasingly likely to have customers who require a special meal. Welcoming Guests With Food Allergies provides tools to train restaurant staff to safely prepare and serve food to guests with food allergies.

Available for free, this comprehensive program is an updated and revised version of an earlier training program published by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). This 60-page guide includes case studies, best practices, up-to-date research, food labeling information, and practical strategies for avoiding cross-contact, as well as suggested procedures for keeping guests safe and steps to prepare for an allergic emergency. Restaurants can use this guide as a basis for their food allergy management programs.

This program was originally developed in cooperation with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and its members. According to the NRA, nearly half of the money Americans spend on food is spent in restaurants.

FARE also worked in collaboration with FAAN Ambassador Who Cares Ming Tsai to develop a video to train restaurants in Massachusetts. In 2010, Massachusetts enacted the Food Allergy Awareness Act, which requires restaurants to display a food allergy awareness poster in the staff area and place a notice on the menus asking patrons to inform their servers about any food allergies before placing an order. The law also included training for food protection managers. This is a great free online tool for restaurants nationwide - forward the information to your local restaurants!