Singapore's first food allergy support group - The Food Allergy Network - is really a labour of love for the mothers who run it.

Ms Jenny Huang, 34, has been instrumental in setting up the network, which went official in December last year.

But the groundwork for this large network, which has more than 100 members, was laid by similar support groups within the American and Australian International schools in Singapore, a few years ago.

Ms Stephanie Lazar, also a mother of two children with food allergies, is part of the support group at the Australian school.

'We are a group of at least 15 mothers whose children have anaphylactic reactions to food,' she said.

The mothers got together three years ago, so that they could work with the school to make it a safe environment for their children.

This involves giving educational talks about allergies to other children, and making sure that nurses and teachers can use the Epipen (epinephrine injection) in case of an emergency.

Now, they want to reach out to the community at large.

'We don't want it to just be an expat thing because it's not just an expat problem,' she said.

The support network is open to anybody with children who suffer from serious food allergies.

Parents can access news about food-allergy related talks on the network's website, learn about new medication and share recipes.

Ms Huang said the network also plans to organise a food-free party for kids with allergies.

'This is a way for them to interact with other kids like themselves because a serious food allergy can be very isolating,' she said.

This goes for parents too. 'Sometimes, parents of very young children with allergies can feel overwhelmed. With this network, they can at least talk to someone who has dealt with a similar problem,' Ms Huang said.

For more information, log on to www.foodallergysingapore.org

This story was first published in The Straits Times' Mind Your Body supplement on Jan 30, 2008.