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Food Allergies

The most common food items that create severe allergic reactions are: Peanuts, Tree nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts), Milk, Eggs, Soy, Shellfish,& Wheat. Most children outgrow their food allergy. However, an allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood is often considered lifelong. It is the PROTEIN in the food that causes the problem. The body normally handles food safely, but an allergic person's body will treat the protein as a "dangerous invader." The result is an allergic reaction, which in some cases can be life threatening. A child with a severe food allergy should NEVER eat food a trained adult has not reviewed first.

Food Intolerance, sometimes confused with food allergy, is an abnormal response to food that is not an Immunoglobulin E (IgE) allergic reaction. An example is a stomachache after drinking milk, where a person lacks enzymes to digest the milk sugar. This is not considered a life-threatening condition. Students with food intolerance should provide this information on the Health Registration Form so that a health care plan/nutrition plan can be developed.

It is our goal to develop a food safety plan for students with food allergies. The best plan involves several safety nets and is a team approach.

For more information on allergies contact the Food Allergy Network (FAN) at 1-800-929-4040, or on the Web at www.foodallergy.org

Education & Training
Bans on specific food items give students, parents, and staff a false sense of security. Today, processed foods contain trace amounts of food items that can be difficult to identify. Unidentified allergens could come from home or the school kitchen and cause a serious problem, if the school team members and parents are not prepared.

The best plan is to educate everyone in the school community to understand the specific concerns involving each student with an allergy. Then a specific plan can be designed to meet the needs of each student.

The Team Approach
To be successful, we need a partnership with students, parents, teachers, nurses, custodians, bus drivers, kitchen staff, counselors, and principals to ensure the safest possible environment for students. By working together we can create a plan that can help prevent an allergic reaction, and quickly respond to an emergency if one should occur.

The Plan Includes
At time of enrollment or onset of allergy:

  • Parent completes health registration form and allergy questionnaire and provides updates for students with a food allergy.

  • Parent and student meet with the school nurse to review allergy history and     questionnaire to create a food safety plan.

  • If student has a potentially life threatening food allergy, an Emergency Action Plan and other required forms must be filled out and signed by both parent and physician, and reviewed by the school nurse before the student may attend school. If emergency rescue medication is required, that also must be in place before the student can attend school.

  • Necessary school accommodations are implemented to meet the individual needs of the student e.g. lunchroom strategies, menu review, limiting cross contamination, field trip and classroom snack ideas, classroom craft precautions and location of emergency medications.

  • A plan is implemented to educate and communicate with staff, school wide (video, distribute school care plan, etc.)

  • Appropriate staff are trained to recognize and respond to allergic reactions including use of emergency medications. (use video: "It Only Takes One Bite")

Food Services

  • We have training videos for students and staff available upon request.

  • We post monthly menus and nutrition information are located on the district web site

  • We provide ingredient lists upon request.

  • We label all peanut and nut products that we produce

  • We train kitchen staff to prevent cross contamination when handling foods.

  • We encourage team communication to help prevent potential allergic reactions.

Peanut/Tree Nut Allergies

Meals and Snacks

 

  • The safest plan is for the parent to provide food from home.
  • We offer 2 school lunches (A & B) that have no obvious peanut/tree nut products or contamination. However, it is harder to control this large inventory of food items.
  • A third option (C) is our most controlled option with lesser food choices and our best ongoing peanut/tree nut free option.
  • Discuss with your physician which lunch option is right for your student.
Lunch Choices
  • A) Meat entrée (no peanuts/tree nuts)
  • B) Vegetarian entrée (no peanuts/tree nuts)
  • C) Peanut/tree nut free/none in production facility, the most controlled option

For other food allergies consult the school lunch menus on our Web site or call the Food Services office at 425-408-7820.