Abbey Braverman, Dr. Hugh Sampson, Lori Stokes, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Roxanne Palin.  Photo by:  Julie Skarratt

The Eleventh Annual Spring Luncheon, presented by the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI), took place on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at Cipriani 42^nd Street.   A record number of guests—nearly 700 people—attended the event, which raised approximately $760,000.  All proceeds will benefit the Food Allergy Initiative’s research activities and educational programs aimed at effectively treating and raising awareness of life-threatening food allergies.   

Abbey Braverman, Roxanne Palin, and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff were this year’s Co-Chairs.  Liana Silverstein Backal, Nina Rennert Davidson, Melissa Meyers, and Jennifer Fisherman Ruff were the Raffle Co-Chairs.  Jessica Mukasey Barkoff,  Elizabeth Hecker, and Lana Platin were the Goodie Bag Co-Chairs.   Melissa Rosenbloom was the Event Advisory Chair.  The guest speaker was Dr. Hugh Sampson of the Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  Julie Menin, Chairperson, New York Community Board 1, spoke about FAI’s public policy initiatives.   Lori Stokes, Anchor, WABC-TV, was the Mistress of Ceremonies.  The luncheon began at 11:00 AM and support levels were as follows: Tables were available for $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000, and individual tickets were available for $2,000, $1,000 and $500. 

The Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) is a national, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to finding a cure for food allergies, which affect more than 12 million Americans.  Founded in 1998, FAI is the largest private source of funding for food allergy research  in the United States.  Since its inception, the organization has contributed more than $65 million toward research, clinical activities to improve diagnosis and treatment, public policy initiatives, and educational programs to raise awareness among schools, health and child care workers, and members of the food service and hospitality industries. Please visit www.faiusa.org for additional information.

For Luncheon information, contact the Food Allergy Initiative at (212) 207-1974 or email to events@faiusa.org.