10-year-old Evan Lincoln has a special lunch table at John Ross Elementary School in Edmond, Oklahoma.

The reason: to protect him from nuts - peanuts and tree nuts, that is.

"I get to invite three friends each day to eat with me," he told the Edmond Sun newspaper.

Evan is severely allergic to nuts.

And even though he has to eat at his own lunch table, he's far from alone.

Experts say a growing number of kids are coming down with severe allergies to peanuts and other foods.

And no one's sure exactly why.

But Evan is fighting back.

Earlier this month, he and 79 other kids from around the country were in Washington, D.C.

They took part in the Kids' Congress, which was organized by a group called the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN).

They were lobbying members of Congress to pass a new law - a law that would set national guidelines for schools on how to deal with food allergies.

Right now, those guidelines vary from school to school.

Some schools ban peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the lunchroom entirely.

But at other schools, kids with allergies have to sit alone - or at a special table, like Evan.

"I think it is important for the kids with food allergies to speak with the senators and congressmen, because we can tell them what it is like to live with the food allergies and how hard it is to feel safe at school," said 9-year-old Kyle Graddy of Auburn, Alabama, speaking with CNN.

Kyle also took part in the Kids' Congress.

"When I change schools from elementary to middle school, the new school would be prepared for my food allergies (if there were national guidelines)," he said.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that happens when a kid or a grownup is exposed to an allergen (something that causes an allergic reaction).

It can cause your throat to swell so badly you can't even breathe.

Because of that, Kyle and other kids carry something called an "Epi-Pen."

It's a pen-shaped thing that contains a substance called epinephrine, which can reverse the allergic reaction.

13-year-old Chris Giuliano says he has had to use his Epi-Pen at least twice.

Chris is an 8th grader at Hampstead Academy in Hampstead, New Hampshire.

He told the Salem Observer newspaper he has to be careful where he sits at lunch, to make sure he's not near a kid who has something he's allergic to.

And Chris has a lot of allergies, according to the Observer - peanuts, tree nuts, peas, fish, shellfish, legumes (beans and peas) and sesame seeds.

"We know what it's like dealing with (allergies)," Chris told the Observer, explaining why he wanted to go to Washington to lobby. "Someone who doesn't have food allergies can't do the same."

According to the Edmond Sun, Evan planned to tell his senators and congressman "my personal story, (to) try to persuade them to pass the legislation."

"I want everyone to know that food allergies need to be taken very seriously," he said.