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Contains: Courage®: FARE’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

FARE stands with the Black community and is fully committed to the community during these challenging times. Black lives matter, and we are dedicated to improving those lives, with special focus on improving lives that are affected by food allergy. We are a patient advocacy group united to overcome food allergy, a disease that disproportionately affects the Black community, and we are also a diverse community of people who support one another and understand the value of coming together today for a stronger tomorrow.

We know that FARE needs to do more to support Black communities affected by food allergy. Starting in early 2020, FARE has taken several steps to address the need for greater access and representation. Here’s what we are doing today:

  • Food Insecurity: 
    • Working with New York Times writer Eric Athas, FARE helped shine a light on food insecurity affecting individuals who are reliant on specialty foods during COVID-19. Our message to government officials has focused on affordability, access, choice and safety. This message was also shared with decisionmakers on Capitol Hill through a piece published in The Hill
    • Starting last week, FARE underwrote a digital promotion campaign to broaden the reach of that message as part of our advocacy efforts to ensure safety mechanisms and support systems are in place as food allergy patients grapple with the impact of temporary FDA guidance that relaxes labeling regulations.
  • Access:  Working closely with the Food Equality Initiative, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, and Northwestern University, FARE Education applied for a significant grant focused on evaluating interventions that support food-insecure families in Chicago.
  • Inclusion: In process are several large-scale grant applications and marketing efforts to diversify the FARE Patient Registry and ensure that Black voices are integral to the future of food allergy research.
  • Baby’s First:  In April, FARE launched a multimillion-dollar research, education, awareness and advocacy effort focused on the early introduction of commonly allergenic foods to decrease infant risk of developing food allergy. A primary focus of the research and advocacy efforts is on aligning government standards with medical findings while also ensuring that underserved communities have access to top 9 foods for early introduction through government assistance programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). We are pursuing ways we can deliver early introduction foods to families who participate in the study and who don’t have the economic flexibility or market access to easily purchase them.
  • Data: Starting the week of June 15, FARE will be briefing government and industry on FARE-initiated research that focuses the negative consequences of inconsistent labeling and the impact it has on diverse communities. This research will become public on the week of June 22, and we look forward to reviewing it with you.

These efforts are just the beginning. We are committed to doing our part and looking for ways to continue to support Black communities affected by food allergy. We are grateful and proud of our partnerships with the Elijah-Alavi Foundation, the Food Equality Initiative and others who are locking arms with us to ensure that our work is thoughtful, transparent and impactful. 

Courage and community are required during these most difficult times. Black lives matter, and they need to be represented in every aspect of our work. That is our commitment to you.

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