Quote from: YouKnowWho on January 27, 2012, 05:47:36 AM
I want to add for anyone looking at school districts in an attempt to make a decision about where they want to land.  Our school district has a strict rule that there can only be one "food party" per year.  However, they neglect to mention the "food fests" that happen weekly - birthday's, end of year ice cream party, Easter treats, Valentine's day cupcakes, 100 day celebration, Dr. Seuss's birthday, Fall Festival, gardens, etc. 

So make sure the one "food party" per year is not just lip service...

That is ridiculous -- but common.

I'd keep a list of the food events then show to the principal because he/she is falsely communicating the 'one food party'. 

Ajas, but at least store bought food HAS a label. And the parent or child should be allowed to read this label to determine if it is a safe food. This along with a requirement that only safe food is allowed in the classroom is a system that can work, as long as the staff is providing notice to allergy child/parent to read the label. 

Home baked foods, where ingredients CANNOT be verified and cross contamination is pervasive, are absolutely unsafe for LTFA (not to mention food safety issues!).  With all the viruses going around, pets in homes, varying levels of cleanliness in home kitchens, etc. - I'm shocked that any school would want to allow home baked foods.  Just recently, I almost used old eggs while making brownies.  How can we be sure that other parents are using safe food prep practices?  (think snot nosed toddler sticking finger in the batter).

Not allowing any food is safer. But zero for the entire year might be unrealistic.  Birthday celebrations and other unnecessary celebrations (Green Egg and Ham Day! Cookies for "If I Give a Mouse A Cookie",  Suzy's Grandma Baked cookies for the class! ETC) are a weak link with all different parents bringing in foods.  A CLASS celebration, that should occur infrequently and is well planned, should allow for ample notice for allergic students/parents to determine safe foods.

I want to add for anyone looking at school districts in an attempt to make a decision about where they want to land.  Our school district has a strict rule that there can only be one "food party" per year.  However, they neglect to mention the "food fests" that happen weekly - birthday's, end of year ice cream party, Easter treats, Valentine's day cupcakes, 100 day celebration, Dr. Seuss's birthday, Fall Festival, gardens, etc. 

So make sure the one "food party" per year is not just lip service...

Thanks mfamom!

I have to shudder at the "rule" that the food brought in by parents "must be store bought" with labels.

As if "store bought" is going to be ANY safer for the FIRST TIME FOOD ALLERGIC REACTION?

Anaphylaxis doesn't pick-and-choose.  Neither does death.

Dead is dead -- whether by homemade food or store bought -- for first time fatal anaphylactic reations.

25% of reactions in school . . .

http://www.dailypress.com/news/education/hall-pass-blog/dp-firstgraders-death-prompts-alert-reminding-hampton-teachers-not-to-use-food-rewards-20120124,0,2862625.story

First-grader's death prompts alert reminding schools not to use 'food rewards'
By Samieh Shalash, sshalash@dailypress.com | 757-247-4537

1:32 PM EST, January 24, 2012

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Hampton administrators were told last week to remind teachers not to use "food rewards" in light of a Chesterfield first-grader's allergy-related death this month.

The 7-year-old girl died from what is believed to be an allergic reaction to peanuts, according to media reports. The school, which is just outside of Richmond, did not have medication in its clinic.

Hampton City School's coordinator of health services, Linda Lawrence, emailed a "health alert" noting that staff should be reminded not use food rewards, and that food brought in by parents should be store-bought with a full list of ingredients.

"It is very important that we as administrators be educated and share with teachers ways to prevent such a tragedy from occurring in our district," Lawrence wrote.

"An even bigger issue is those students that might not be aware of an allergy that they have because they have not yet been exposed to the allergen, but could end up being exposed at school."

Nearly 8 percent of children have food allergies, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, and the prevalence of peanut allergy among children tripled between 1997 and 2008.

Some Hampton students have visited their school clinics with mild allergic reactions to candy given to them by a staff member, Lawrence wrote, adding that those incidents could have been "much worse."

Her memo reemphasized the importance of staff washing their hands after eating, and teaching children to do the same.

"Our hands can contain residue from the foods that we eat such as, peanut residue, and can cause a reaction if we touch a student that is allergic to the allergen, or if the staff member touches the water fountain, etc. the residue will be left on other surfaces.

"This is a growing issue and we want to prevent an unfortunate situation from happening in our district. This is extremely important and we need to educate our staff, students and parents."

Each school clinic has a "Life-Threatening Allergy Protocol," she added, that can be referred to in emergencies.

Read facts and statistics about food allergies here.

Halifax school puts potatos on restricted food list

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/01/13/ns-charles-tupper-potatoes.html

fyi, they don't actually "ban" any foods, but peanuts, nuts and potatos are on a restricted list.

Realizing I need to go back in and do this & asking that anyone who adds link also do:

Post the full name of school and/or district above the link so that we can continue to find/monitor -- will be helpful to pull the link to their full policy from school/district website, not just the news story (which may become unavailable online eventually).

Thanks!