By Edyn Jada Mai
May 1, 2024
Fullerton Observer
To make an impact is one of the ultimate and seemingly unattainable goals in one’s lifetime, but for 12-year-old Zacky Muñoz, making an impact is in his nature. Muñoz is changing systems and lives to create more awareness and safety regulations for food allergies. He has passed two pieces of legislation, Zacky’s Bill and the Muñoz Safe Allergy Framework for Emergencies (SAFE) Act, which is already an exceptional repertoire for a student, but his efforts do not end there. Muñoz and his team are moving to pass his third piece of legislation, Zacky’s Food Allergy Safety Treatments (FAST) Act, to further education about food allergy safety in California. Ready to face any challenges that may get in his way, Muñoz is prepared to make food allergy safety a priority for all Americans.
The birthplace of Muñoz’s passion was his first-hand encounter with the dangers of food allergies. When he was in the first grade, Muñoz was shocked with an anaphylactic reaction that resulted in him needing to be dosed with epinephrine. It was a “day [he] will never forget,” Muñoz said. After this instance, Muñoz and his family began to do more research about food allergies and their effects, and he was shocked to see that there was a large community of people with food allergies. With his current work, Muñoz hopes to make a change and provide resources and education for the 33 million Americans with food allergies.
Since then, Muñoz has actively worked to create a safer and more knowledgeable environment for people with food allergies. His first piece of legislation, Zacky’s Bill, creates an online research guide on what to do when allergic to certain foods. The bill “opens the door for more resources for people with food allergies,” creating much-needed guides about food allergies. The second piece of legislation was the Muñoz SAFE Act, which ensures that epinephrine is easily accessible in schools and not locked up in public schools. The act also creates additional training for California public school faculty and staff in the case of an emergent need to aid a student with a food allergy. Now, Muñoz and his team are moving to pass Zacky’s FAST act, which aims to clean up the language from auto-injector to delivery system, making food allergy treatment more approachable. The FAST Act also proposes the usage of other forms of epinephrine dispensers. Muñoz and his do-er mentality are changing the game with food allergies from defensive to offensive.
Muñoz believes it is incredibly important to self-advocate, whether for a health problem or schoolwork. On his social media accounts, Muñoz shows what daily life looks like for a person with food allergies: waking up, going to school, doing homework, practicing the bass, and finally, advocating for food allergies. He also highlights how he orders food with specifications and other daily tasks to show other people with food allergies that they are not alone.
With help from outside institutions such as colleges, Muñoz has pushed the boundaries of what food allergy safety previously was in California. Although Muñoz’s current focus is on Zacky’s FAST act, he is also set to visit Washington, D.C., on May 8 to be a keynote speaker and advocate for food allergies nationally. Furthermore, Zacky and his team are partnering with Northwestern University to stimulate food allergy-related research to tackle the root of the problem, hoping that the research will someday eliminate food allergies. The research is a primary aspect of the fight against food allergies because the “more there is a focus on it, the more opportunity to eliminate it,” said Priscilla Hernandez, Zacky’s mother. For people to invest their time and money into conquering food allergies, there must be research and education on the topic, which is why Zacky’s advocacy is crucial.
At just 12 years old, Muñoz has become a key part of the fight against food allergies. Muñoz’s impact is unprecedented for someone his age, and his goodness of character is even more astonishing. The most satisfying part of his work is “knowing that [he is] making a difference,” said Muñoz. While his passion lies in food allergy advocacy, it also harbors kindness, where “helping other people is the best thing he can do.”