Walk aims to raise awareness, funds in battle against food allergies

A walk for food-allergy awareness, Moving Toward a Cure in Richmond, will be held Saturday at the Snag-a-Job Pavilion in Innsbrook in Henrico County.

Similar events are being held nationwide in 35 cities in connection with the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network to increase knowledge about food allergies and to raise money for research and education.

Online registration for the walk is available at http://www.foodallergywalk.org. The 2-mile Henrico walk -- other walks in Virginia are being held in Virginia Beach and Fairfax -- begins at 10 a.m. with check-in starting at 9 a.m.

The national network's third annual Kids' Congress on Capitol Hill begins today. Youth ages 6 to 18 with food allergies will meet with elected officials to share their experiences and urge support for food-allergy-related legislation as well as funding for research. Among the program's junior ambassadors is Chase Kamencik, 8, a third-grader at Twin Hickory Elementary School in Henrico.

The organization supports legislation that would provide a voluntary policy to manage food-allergy and anaphylaxis risks in schools.

For more information about the Henrico walk, call co-chair Sara Kamencik at (804) 364-9291.