TIME for Kids
By Jaime Joyce
Zacky Muñoz, 13, has severe allergies to certain foods. Eating even a tiny bit of one of these can make him sick. In first grade, he ate a breadstick made with sesame. It was accidental. After just a few bites, “I knew something was different,” he told TIME for Kids. “So I went to the nurse.”
Zacky had a dangerous allergic reaction. It’s called anaphylaxis. “I started throwing up, having trouble breathing,” he says. An EpiPen saved his life. That’s a medical device used in an emergency. It delivers medication called epinephrine. “It was scary,” Zacky says. “But it did open my eyes for me to really see that food allergies are serious. . . . I discovered that there is a whole community [of people] who’ve gone through similar experiences.”
Raising Awareness
Since age 6, Zacky has been an advocate. He and his mom worked on the Zacky Bill. It was signed into law in California in 2022. The state now provides an online food allergy resource guide for schools. In 2023, the Muñoz SAFE Act became law. It says California schools must provide access to epinephrine. This year, the state passed another law. It expands epinephrine access in schools.
“There are so many people like me who are impacted” by food allergies, Zacky says. “That is what led me down this path.”
In the United States, more than 33 million people have food allergies. That number includes one in 13 kids. That’s according to FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education). Eggs, milk, peanuts, sesame, and soy are among the most common food allergens in the U.S. Some food allergy symptoms are mild. Others can be deadly.
Zacky has shared information about allergies with lawmakers at the California State Capitol. One person he’s spoken to is Griffin Bovée. He’s a capitol director for the California State Assembly. Bovée says that Zacky “sets a really good example that you don’t have to wait until you’re an adult to get engaged [in advocacy].”
Loud and Proud
Zacky also leads a nonprofit group that’s focused on children’s health. On his website, Zacky’s Universe, he provides tips on living with food allergies. And he’s a public speaker. Dr. Ruchi Gupta runs the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research, in Chicago, Illinois. She has invited Zacky to the group’s annual conference. She calls him “one of the most prominent voices for kids with food allergy in the U.S.”
To kids with food allergies, Zacky says, “Let your voice be heard. You should be loud and proud and say, ‘I have food allergies. This is what I need to be safe.’”
Inspired?
Let Zacky’s story inspire you to help make a positive difference.