FAYETTEVILLE -- Food allergies are a serious concern for 15 million Americans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
That's a whopping total -- 4 percent of adults and 8 percent of children in the country who have to be hyper-conscious of everything they consume.
Heather West is the mother of two of those children: 4 years old and 18 months old. Between the two of them, they're allergic to five foods, including essentials like milk and eggs.
It dictates decisions that many people don't think twice about.
"The hardest thing for me is to explain to people the fear and the anxiety as a mother I have every day," West says. "You're going to have that ... when your kids are in the care of somebody else but you throw on top of that anxiety [that] if they eat the wrong thing it could kill them, it's just a constant fear all the time."
It puts additional pressure on parenting. Finding a way around the milk allergy for West's infant son isn't as easy as buying soy milk, since it's produced in the same facilities as almond milk. Any cross-contamination would mean a severe allergic reaction, since he has a tree nut allergy as well.
"So far we've been very fortunate; we haven't had to [use an] EpiPen on either one of our children," she says. "I know there's going to be a day when we will, but not yet."
Managing multiple food allergies makes checking off a grocery list in one stop a rarity.
"It affects my life every day," West says. "It's very hard to feed our family."
No matter where she's shopping, it's a carefully selected thoroughfare.
Poring over information labels is crucial not only to identify ingredients her children may be allergic to, but to find out whether the product was flavored with one, such as coconut oil. That makes choosing the right products tedious.
"Anything I pick up I have to read the label on, any toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, anything that comes in contact with my kids, whether they ingest it or it's on their skin, I have to read everything," she says. "So it does kind of get difficult."
Having a food allergy doesn't mean that kids stop being kids.
West's own enjoy some junk foods, like Pop-Tarts and hot dogs, but the growing list of foods that are off-limits makes gatherings with other children -- at school, church, day care, birthdays -- difficult.
"Birthday parties are kind of tough, especially because any baked goods have egg in it," West says.
Taking care of a child with allergies is a team effort. It means coordinating with day-care employees to ensure all are aware of the allergy, know how to use an epinephrine pen and allow leniency with lunch and snack rules.
The struggle from the child's point of view is in being set apart, not included in the same meal as others.
For a 4-year-old, it's hard to understand.
"We taught her to 'always ask before you eat anything,'" West says. "There are certain things she can't eat and she understands that, but she had a hard time with this birthday party because ... she was off at another table eating carrots and celery and mom's cupcakes."
That feeling of exclusion is at the heart of the forthcoming Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Walk for Food Allergy, which will take place Saturday at Village on the Creeks in Rogers. The closest regional office for FARE is in Dallas, so West volunteered to organize the local walk.
Formed from the 2012 merger of the Food Allergy Initiative and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, FARE was created to provide the best education and research to lower incidents of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be fatal.
Proceeds from the walk go toward clinical trials and research to help curb the severe effects of food allergies and providing more training sessions for educators on how to recognize a food allergy reaction and administer epinephrine pens. It's an important skill given that more than 20 percent of these occurrences in schools are to students who were unaware of their allergy.
"Most people are very understanding," West says. "They ask questions about [food allergy] and are very concerned, but every now and then we run into that person that doesn't understand [the] seriousness of it and says, 'Oh well, if they have a little peanut butter here and there it'll help them ...'
"It's not a laughing matter, especially when you live it every single day."
Festivities begin at 9 a.m. with a DJ, photo booth, bounce house and demonstrations of a fire safety house for the children. There will also be a vendor fair, and an allergist will be available for consultation.
"It's just getting together and meeting people who understand what you go through on a daily basis," West says.
She uses it as an opportunity to connect with others and learn how they navigate being a parent of a child with allergies.
West says the walk gives her daughter a chance to relate to others, too.
"It kind of makes her feel good that she's not the only one out there; there are other kids that deal with the same thing she does," she says. "Our big thing with her is just to educate, teach her, and help her feel better about it."
NW Profiles on 09/21/2014