Cafeteria -- to eat or not to eat (ajasfolks2)

[ajasfolks2]

Opening Post

ajasfolks2

Decisions as to what a LTFA student might safely eat from cafeteria offerings are only as good as the food ingredient information provided by the school district.

The ingredient list for a particular offering should include the manufacturer name/brand name. Who here has had to ask for this part of the info separately? Who here has the brand/manuf listed in the full disclosure/ingredient list from school/district? Anyone lucky enough to have a school provide scanned ingredient labels for the foods?

Would be interesting to discuss here how your school/district makes its ingredient list available (format), how often it updates, how your cafeteria handles food substitutions, etc.

Do you personally go to the cafeteria to read labels? If so, how often & when? How involved is your child/student in this process (age, grade, etc.)

Does your cafeteria actually make/bake food there or is all stuff pre-made and carted in to be warmed only (as needed)?

Would like to discuss the actual INGREDIENT DETERMINATION & EATING as to the meal offerings in cafeteria here in this thread -- please leave allergen-free-table & seating arrangement discussions for other threads where discussed so often.

I'll try to get back in and link any threads into this that have mainly dealt with this single issue as to cafeteria. Please feel free to add links to threads here or other info as you see fit.


Would like success stories and problems too!

[ajasfolks2]

Follow ons

ajasfolks2

The cover letter on this district's (Fairfax County, VA) ingredient list has a very important error in it.  (I've highlighted it with colored text.)

Again.   

http://www.fcps.edu/fs/food/food_at_school/IngredientAnalysis.pdf

The most frequent allergy inquiries deal with peanuts or nuts and we limit these on our menus. Most manufacturers of our purchased products use soybean or cottonseed oil for processing. Manufacturers are stating on the label that even though their product does not contain peanuts or tree nuts, their products are produced in a facility that handles peanut butter/peanut products or tree nuts. If this is stated on the label, we state it in this list. The following are our products containing peanuts:

The red portion is NOT true of all their brands/manufacturer offered.  (Otis Spunkmeyer comes to mind as will others if you read thru the list & have experience with trying to determine Xcontam/shared facility from some of these vendors . . . . )

On that particular list, most of the brand names are supplied.

WORTHY OF NOTE:  Fairfax County is the home of FAAN. 

lakeswimr

This would be way more trouble than it would be worth because we are mfa including non-top 8 but I once went in when there was some project and checked one item. I was told the name of the manufacturer and they got right back to me and gave me clear info. If I remember correctly that company even labels for sesame. They seemed very aware.

That said--for another school project they wanted to use giant pans from the kitchen to bake fruit. I asked to wash the pan myself first just to be on the safe side and discovered that enough thought the kitchen staff follows all proper procedures in cleaning pans, etc, the pans all had *miniscule* amounts of hard food in the corners. They described in detail their cleaning procedures. It is a pretty open kitchen so it isn't like they can slack off and people wouldn't notice. I know these women and they are hard workers. Even in MY kitchen i have some baking wear that has stains i can't remove (from oil). Anyway, I could not scrub off this miniscule amount of food in the corners no matter what I did. We ended up covering it with tinfoil. My point is that no matter how safe the ingredients, no matter how careful they are with preventing x-contam, there can always be something like hardened miniscule amounts of food in the corners of baking pans, etc. I think risks go beyond calling companies and label reading.

lakeswimr

I just looked at that list and it looks pretty impressive to me. I am not understanding what you are saying is the error. Are you saying there are companies that have may contain warnings that are not making it onto their list? I'd contact them and let them know about that. Looks like someone went to a HUGE amount of trouble to make that list. . . .

Have to say this--the ingredients in a lot of that are really junky and IMO school kids shouldn't be fed that stuff! Sad that we don't have whole foods in schools.

hedgehog

I went to the cafeteria several times a week for 6 years. I was welcome to come and take a look at each and every label myself. I became close to the cafeteria ladies, and they loved DS. He even occasionally got special treatment regarding prefences, rather than needs. In all that time there was just a period of several months where things were not good. They had a new supervisor at that time, who did not last long. She ordered many "off-brand" items, often without ingredient lists (or ingredients listed in forign language). She instisted this was all that was available. Funny, but when she left, the cafeteria went back to getting trusted name brand products. Other than that, it was great (inconvenient on part to have to go to the school so often, but that had other benefits as well).

Now DS has just started middle school. Things are different there. They have many lunch choices each day. I would not be able to check each lunch, because DS can decide when he gets there what he's going to eat. But I have talked to the manager there. He is great. The brands are the same as elementary (the same company does both cafeterias), he works with the elem. cafeteria lady that I lovved, and was very happy to meet with me over the summer. I brought DS to meet him as well. And he has said that he will always err on the side of caution. If DS any questions or is unsure of anything, he is to talk with the cafeteria manager, and he will help him. He said he is also willing to work closely with the school nurse.

Today is his first day buying lunch in the MS. I can't wait to ask him how it goes.

BTW--I do agree with lakswimr on the junkiness of the food. After looking at those ingredients--yuck! But I think sometimes it is better to pick your fights and he wants to buy. I also think it is good for him to fit in by buying like the other kids do.

Cmdeux (quoting lakeswimr)

Ajas,

I just looked at that list and it looks pretty impressive to me.  I am not understanding what you are saying is the error.  Are you saying there are companies that have may contain warnings that are not making it onto their list?  I'd contact them and let them know about that.  Looks like someone went to a HUGE amount of trouble to make that list. 

I think that her point is that there are plenty of things that should be included in the 'shared processing' list, but since advisory labeling is voluntary...

The school seems to be assuming that advisory labels are universal-- and they are most emphatically not.

MommaBear

I went to the cafeteria several times a week for 6 years.  I was welcome to come and take a look at each and every label myself.  I became close to the cafeteria ladies, and they loved DS. 

Oh, this. Good Lord, this.

Marching Band is just like this. I'm going on all the trips. So can't depend on anyone but him and myself to make those decisions, and he's probably going to need me for transportation.  Hotel running 400 dollars for the first major competition, otherwise, I could help chaperone. _{my older son's meals}.

I still have to check out the caf in H.S. for my older son, but really, he's kinda backed off the idea after seeing the prices.  Granted, I'll give him the money, but he has the option of keeping it. 

MommaBear

Ajas,

I just looked at that list and it looks pretty impressive to me.  I am not understanding what you are saying is the error.  Are you saying there are companies that have may contain warnings that are not making it onto their list?  I'd contact them and let them know about that.  Looks like someone went to a HUGE amount of trouble to make that list. 

I think that her point is that there are plenty of things that should be included in the 'shared processing' list, but since advisory labeling is voluntary...

The school seems to be assuming that advisory labels are universal-- and they are most emphatically not.

exactly why we can't depend on or expect others to make those decisions for our children.

notnutty

Ajas,

I just looked at that list and it looks pretty impressive to me.  I am not understanding what you are saying is the error.  Are you saying there are companies that have may contain warnings that are not making it onto their list?  I'd contact them and let them know about that.  Looks like someone went to a HUGE amount of trouble to make that list. 

I think that her point is that there are plenty of things that should be included in the 'shared processing' list, but since advisory labeling is voluntary...


The school seems to be assuming that advisory labels are universal-- and they are most emphatically not.

exactly why we can't depend on or expect others to make those decisions for our children.

Yep...my DS has not eaten a single meal from the school cafeteria.  The Food Service Director is the most unaccountable, unapproachable, uncooperative person I have ever met (need more adjectives?)

Just looking at this ingredient list makes me wonder why any children eat this food!  YUCK! (reminds me I need to ask older DS what the lunch is like at the High School).

We will stick to our safe meals from home TYVM!

[ajasfolks2]

More Follow Ons


notnutty

I also noticed on the list #41 "Sandwich, Uncrustables Cheese by Smucker's"

No mention of x-contamination. 

notnutty

One more thing...I think that to even get the SD to put together such a list is amazing. Even if I would not be willing to rely on such a list, I think that for some it may be helpful.

We do not have any accountability from our food service. To see such a list would be a major victory here.

Unknown

Ok, I'm in the minority here. Ds buys hot lunch about 8-10x per month.

I usually go to the district foodservice office and read through all of the labels on the first day of school. They have all of them in a binder for parents to access and will give me the contact info for the mfgrs/ordering companies if I need it.

They do not serve foods with nuts in them except for prepackaged uncrustables at any school, so I'm flagging the ingredient lists for dairy and egg. Ds can tolerate them in certain amounts.

The person in charge of D's cafeteria is awesome. I trust her and she feels that there is absolutely no reason why ds can't eat from the cafeteria like the other students. It is important to HER that he is included. Not because I want him included, but because SHE wants him included. That makes a world of difference.

She is really up on xcont issues, and has trained her staff well. With her I can have an intelligent conversation about food, ingredients, etc, just as we would here. They have one designated area for the uncrustables and handling procedures for them (changing gloves before & after touching them, etc).

Because we are trying to add dairy and egg into D's diet, she saves food for us to try at home. For example, the meatballs have Romano cheese in them. D hasn't tried them yet, but this Monday they will have meatballs and she will put a few aside in the fridge for me. Tuesday morning I will drop ds off at school, pick up the meatballs in my little cooler bag & put them in the ofc fridge. We will then try them at home Tues night rather than trying new foods at school.

This works really well for us. Ds has the list of standard foods he can eat from the cafeteria, and we've been able to add to the list with this method.

Are the foods the healthiest options? Not always. He will be having hot dogs for lunch tomorrow that he's buying at the cafeteria. Buying lunch is a life skill that we can't teach him at home, and socially it makes it just easier for him any time he can do the same things as his friends do. If that means he eats a hot dog for lunch, then so be it.

Ajas, the only baked goods they have are bagels with cream cheese. They make most foods on site, but don't have baked goods or peanut items other than the uncrustables.

My $.02 is to have a discussion with the cafeteria manager at the school to assess their understanding and awareness of xcont, etc for THAT specific cafeteria. If you feel the person is competent, then look into the labels.

Oh I read the labels at the beginning of the year only. If they change suppliers for any reason, the woman at the cafeteria will send home the label from the box for me to read. If that happens on a day that ds is buying lunch, she will make him a salad or a turkey sandwich.

ETA- the school cafeteria manager will let me into the walk-in to read labels in there also whenever I ask. She has no problem giving me access to her fridge.

CMdeux

The person in charge of D's cafeteria is awesome

I think that says it all, really--

if that is true, then of course it is an entirely different ballgame.

We had one daycare/preschool teacher that I trusted to feed DD, as well.   

Unknown

We had a daycare person like that also- that's what got my head around other people feeding ds originally.

I also think that I have to teach him these life skills before he goes to college. If I don't let ds learn how to navigate a cafeteria and buy food, how is he going to do so as a young adult living in a dorm? He doesn't know all of the background legwork I do, but as he gets older I plan on including him in the whole process.

ETA- we give the cafeteria staff flowers every June as a thank you. They know we appreciate what they do more than most anyone in the school.

notnutty

D-mom...if I had such a person in the cafeteria it may be a whole different situation.

We are just not there yet, nor am I holding my breath that we will ever be.

You are right about the nutrition...that would probably not be such a big issue if my DS could safely eat with his peers a few times a month.

Stinky6

my guy doesn't eat cafe food
but when I have asked for info on labels for a particular event...ie bbq...I have been given pdf's of labels, with hand written notes...saying called on x date - spoke with X person to verify no peanuts in the facility

although last year (new principal) when I asked I was told..."Yummy hambergers with all the fixings and it's all peanut free" - he did not eat at the bbq and I didn't have time to push back - but I honestly suspect that the due dilligence was done by the food people - I just couldn't verify it in time - so no eats.

chemchick22

Once my son outgrew the egg allergy I felt more confident about him eating the cafeteria lunches.

The lunchroom had 2/3 workers and one supervisor. I met with the supervisor and we physically looked at all the packages and I read the ingredients. Sometimes I could check the food for a whole month in one swoop. The lunch program did have fruits and veggies which I didn't inspect as they came in fresh as needed. Not a worry for our situation.

The supervisor was more than willing to substitute an item--usually a dessert. This worked well because I told my son what he would be having each day, the computer system flagged him to remind the lunch ladies of his allergies, and they erred on the side of caution. If they or my son questioned an item they substituted one they knew I had checked and let my son check labels as he grew older over the 4 years he ate hot lunch.

For us it was a positive experience. He loved the lunches--he felt included even with some substitutions. It helped him with his confidence in handling food situations as he grew. For me it was an investment of my time and over the years I'd like to think that the cafe supervisors and workers learned how to help other children with food allergies.

lakeswimr

I think it is great that this works for some. I do not think it can work for all or at least not easily. I can't even tell if a food is OK or not by looking at a label and often times I can't get companies to tell me what is in something. I would not be OK with reading labels once a year. I read every label every time. We all know things can and do change. That would be a prohibitive amount of work on my part and not worth it.

Mfamom

Well, I did allow my ds to eat in the school ccafeteria last year. One of my close friends is the cafeteria manager.
She reviews the labels of all foods she orders. They actually cook a lot of things from scratch. There are no nuts/peanuts at all in the cafeteria kitchen.

She orders particular brand of bread for my ds as rolls, sandwich/hamburger bread/buns come from a bakery.

There are some items that aren't labeled for xcontamination: David's and Otis Spunkmeyer. My ds already knew not to eat those things.

My ds is very smart about his food choices and I know there is no pb or nuts there, so I'm okay with him eating there.
The food is apparently delicious.
and, my ds is "flagged" meaning that if he wants a hamburger, they know that they need to get him a bun from the stash of 'safe bread" etc.

CMdeux

I think it is great that this works for some.  I do not think it can work for all or at least not easily.  I can't even tell if a food is OK or not by looking at a label and often times I can't get companies to tell me what is in something. I would not be OK with reading labels once a year.  I read every label every time.  We all know things can and do change.  That would be a prohibitive amount of work on my part and not worth it. 

True-- it was an enormous amount of work on my part-- and we were extremely selective.  We generally did NOT allow 'processed' foods at all because of the additional time involved.  I did allow fresh fruit and veggies, however, once I was able to evaluate the preparation method and verify safe handling to prevent XC there.

[ajasfolks2]

More follow ons

ajasfolks2

I have literally 10 seconds tonight . . .

thank you all for the input so far . . .

please, everyone, let's keep batting this around so that many perspectives are represented as well as experiences nationwide (even worldwide, as I know we have folks from Canada & UK & Australia, plus sprinkles from elsewhere).

The Fairfax list was ours the past 2 years.  We are in different county now, with label ingredients in an online Excel/MS? document, but NO manufacturers names/brand names.

Yes, this is one of those very "IMMV" things (individual mileage may vary), but it's also about getting the schools to at least make a BARE MINIMUM of info available to all . . . and then how to get the fill-in details.

Thanks to all & please keep the input coming.

10-seconds waaaaaay up.   

did not ck for spelling/typos.  hammer me.

ajasfolks2

ANYONE have a bulleted item on a 504 or IEP that says something to the effect,

THOU SHALT SUPPLY ALL CAF INGREDIENTS

or something like that?

(not meaning to insult anyone's religion . . . )

Unknown

Mine doesn't say anything like that but it used to say something about inclusion for hot lunch and the procedures that have gone with it (our meetings, me going in and reading all of the boxes in the walk-in, etc).

Ours aren't in a spreadsheet- the labels are printed out from the master order database and put into a 3 ring binder. They aren't hi-tech enough yet to scan them in as pdf's and that's fine since they have changed bread suppliers before in the middle of the year.

Keep in mind, I do NOT call mfgrs. The only one I've ever called was the bread one last year for school. That's IT. I read the label and any warnings, then decide from that if it will work or not. I don't hunt and peck around for every bit of info about production lines because 1) I do not have the time and 2) ds doesn't react to low level xcont. So reading the labels works for us.

lakeswimr

Plus you must not deal with non-top 8 because if you did your system wouldn't work. I'm glad it does work for you! I would love to just label read and go by that alone. I used to do that because no one told me otherwise. Found out the hard way that sesame, etc don't have to be listed to be in a food. Found out the hard way also that even if sesame isn't in a food (no ambiguous language at all) that it could be x-contamed enough to cause ana in DS so we have to call.

Arkadia

ANYONE have a bulleted item on a 504 or IEP that says something to the effect,

THOU SHALT SUPPLY ALL CAF INGREDIENTS

or something like that?

um, I do. it also specifies a frequency per school year, and how soon before the menu change comes out.

despite this, I still got a list of what is going to be served and not ingredients. I don't think it was intentional, but more along the lines of what punkin's mom was describing. Maybe they thought just because I mentioned I would come in and check them personally, they wouldn't have to supply the labels, or copies of them?  Hmmmmm....no matter, I'm going to check the caf out personally. Trying not to get off on the wrong foot with the cafeteria staff....

McCobbre

Our 504 says that DS has a right to eat food from the cafeteria. The language in our newest 504 is being finalized, but it does indicate parents can check labels, etc. We discussed the fact that companies don't have to label for shared equipment or XC, and they got it.

That said, dS does not eat at the cafeteria. I think he probably could with his FA, but there is very little for him there as a vegetarian.

The school had a salad bar on a trial basis last spring, and the district worked with me there to get names of suppliers/manufacturers/detailed ingredients lists. At the district level. Must say at the school level, the cafeteria manager was as helpful as she thought she needed to be. She seemed to be offended by my talk of cross contamination (the salad bar had almonds, and while DS can and does eat them, he only eats Blue Diamond, which are peanut free).

We may push for this later this year. I'll have to see the menu again.

McCobbre

See also this thread:

Eating School Cafeteria Food with PA: When you're a vegetarian

And CM truly noted why DS might have a hard time, quoting from the menu I posted then. 

:rotf:

Well, not really, McCobbre-- not if they would opt for 'combining sides' rather than doing a vegetarian entree option if one doesn't exist, YK?


Would a hard-boiled egg add sufficient protein?  That might be a way around concerns about inadequate protein in a 'sides only' meal plan.

McCobbre said earlier

That said, based on the representative menus I pasted, I wouldn't let him eat this stuff unless they made a vegetarian option---it just wouldn't be healthy for him.

Yes... I see what you mean...

Turkey & Cheese / Bun...

Spicy BBQ Rib / Bun...

Crispy Pork Chop/ Bun


I think you are right... quite an emotional toll.      <giggle>

Arkadia

my guy doesn't eat cafe food
but when I have asked for info on labels for a particular event...ie bbq...I have been given pdf's of labels, with hand written notes...saying called on x date - spoke with X person to verify no peanuts in the facility 

although last year (new principal) when I asked I was told..."Yummy hambergers with all the fixings and it's all peanut free" - he did not eat at the bbq and I didn't have time to push back - but I honestly suspect that the due dilligence was done by the food people - I just couldn't verify it in time - so no eats.

Oh, flashbacks to the bs and stalling by persons responsible for getting me the ingredient info for end of year 8th grade festivities.  Anyone remember the handwritten menu (dinner dance?) With what appeared to be the word: "BEER" that I posted?

Evade, yes they were stalling.  I went apesh*t.  No way was he missing 8th grade festivities.  Not this kid.  Not "demonstrates judgement beyond that of his peers" with accollades, loved by any decent teacher, and who got along with everyone.  Not a discipline blip in 7th or 8th grade.

I called that person out in front of high-school staff and reps at the transition meeting.  Showed them the very same "ingredient information" and compared it to what the iep required. 

"This is who you are dealing with.  Count on it.

Arkadia

I don't sing Kumbaya with obstructions.....ever.

notnutty

What do you do when the food service director refuses to even provide the lunch menu in advance because there is a "menu is subject to change without notice" disclaimer on the menu?

I can't get her to provide a menu ahead of time to even start to figure out what would be safe for DS to eat.

Providing ingredient lists?  :rotf:

Seriously.  Any ideas?  This is a current issue in our district and I really don't know how to approach it.  There is no accountability and food service director is pushing back.

Unknown

Lakeswimmer, no, we only deal with top 8 allergens. That's a big part of why our situation works. If we had to hunt and peck to find out about sesame or a preservative, he probably wouldn't eat in the cafeteria.

Lakeswimr

I'm very glad it works for you. Maybe one day DS can do something like that. It would be nice to have the option.

ajasfolks2

notnutty,

I think situations such as yours call for pulling info/wording from USDA so far as disability inclusion/accommdation . . . and maybe involving USDA with claim? (But we know that this does not necessarily result in a true fix.)

I *do* think you are not in an extreme minority with your situation -- perhaps even in the majority? It's hard to tell with so little data.

I've not read what some state's published policies on this might be -- thinking it might be addressed in some of the state LTFA policies, but I cannot recall. Would need to re-read and hunt-peck for that detail. (Rusty on some of this right now . . . )

ajasfolks2

Did find this link -- haven't read it thoroughly.

http://www.foodinsight.org/Content/6/Color_Food_Allergy.pdf 

[ajasfolks2]

More Follow ons

ajasfolks2

Oh, please excuse huge link -- will go tiny url it in a moment.

http://tinyurl.com/23nk4su


United States
Department of
Agriculture


Accommodating Children with
Food and
Nutrition
Service
Special Dietary Needs in the
School Nutrition Programs

Guidance for School Food Service Staff

Notnutty

I think the USDA is a bigger joke than the OCR.  :rotf:

Just from my personal experience.  This may also be regional.

Thank you ajas for the other links.  The USDA one is already part of my DS "data" on his 504 plan. 


I really don't think he will be eating from the cafeteria just yet, but I know other parents in our SD who would really like that option.

I think I am in the majority with no accountability from the food service department.  LTFA are a inconvenience and they don't want to "waste" their time dealing with it.  Sure I could go in and read every ingredient, but that is the extent of the offering.  If substitutions are made, I will never be notified because "it is subject to change without notice."

And really...I don't have the energy to have a long drawn-out battle again with this SD.

Arkadia

Oh, please excuse huge link -- will go tiny url it in a moment.

http://tinyurl.com/23nk4su


United States
Department of
Agriculture


Accommodating Children with
Food and
Nutrition
Service
Special Dietary Needs in the
School Nutrition Programs

Guidance for School Food Service Staff

Yes, I posted this on page one. I've never figured out how to do tiny urls.  A little help on how to?  Didn't mean to post a huge link, but thought the information was more important than the inconvenience of a big link.

CMdeux

What do you do when the food service director refuses to even provide the lunch menu in advance because there is a "menu is subject to change without notice" disclaimer on the menu?

I can't get her to provide a menu ahead of time to even start to figure out what would be safe for DS to eat.

Providing ingredient lists?  :rotf:

Seriously.  Any ideas?  This is a current issue in our district and I really don't know how to approach it.  There is no accountability and food service director is pushing back.

Not helpful as a way of cobbling together an entire MEAL...


but...

at the MS/HS level, I'd allow individually packaged milk or yogurt(soymilk or juice in our case) that was labeled...
and whole fruit-- DD knows to ask that it be washed IN FRONT OF HER and handled with paper toweling afterwards... if she can't wash it herself, that is.

In an 'emergency' this would work as lunch-- not ideally, no--  but in a pinch, yes.      We've done this at musuems, etc.

Arkadia

ah, whoops, it was page one from this thread (mixing up similar threads...):

http://allergy.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=16519

anyways, thanks Dman's mom!! Might play around with links at that site some more....

Mezzo

The ingredient list for a particular offering should include the manufacturer name/brand name.  Who here has had to ask for this part of the info separately?  Who here has the brand/manuf listed in the full disclosure/ingredient list from school/district?   Anyone lucky enough to have a school provide scanned ingredient labels for the foods?

The food service coordinator gave the brand names of each of the foods served in the lunches my DD ate last spring.  She's only eaten hot lunch a few times.  The coordinator (manager? don't know what to call her, but she's in charge at the district level) had the ingredient labels in her book to read off, and she checked some things on the packages that were going to be used that week.

Do you personally go to the cafeteria to read labels?  If so, how often & when?  How involved is your child/student in this process (age, grade, etc.)

Does your cafeteria actually make/bake food there or is all stuff pre-made and carted in to be warmed only (as needed)?

I did not actually go there, as the manager sounded competent and aware, and read things off to me on the phone.  But she said I could come in and look through her binder.  If DD starts eating hot lunch again, I expect I'll go do that.  But, after trying a few coveted hot lunches, DD currently feels that hot lunch isn't good enough to warrant the risk she feels she's taking!  She's in 5th grade.

Our school cooks so little.  It's terrible.  Practically everything is processed, frozen food that they just heat up.  When I was a kid (boy, now I sound old!), the cooks actually cooked.  My grandma was a cook, and my DH's grandma was, too, so we know from their experiences that it was real food.  There are a few things that get cooked in our school kitchens now, I found out from going over those menus.  They make real macaroni & cheese, for example.  I guess that knowing that they just heat up Totino's pizzas makes it easier for me to say DD could eat.  But I still don't think it's a good thing for kids in general.

I saw on a TV show that government commodities for school lunches nowadays are things like chicken nuggets.  That's what they are given, instead of the basic staples they got when we were kids.

My DS wants to start a "real food" movement in his school.  We tell him, great, go for it.  And I read in the paper that our school lunch program has a surplus.  So a school board member suggested they improve the quality of the food.  The superintendent and the food service manager answered that our district's food is really good -- when they get inspected, they pass with flying colors!  Um, yeah, that doesn't mean you're serving good, quality food.  You're just serving junk food in a safe way.  There's doing something the right way, and then there's doing the right thing.  I need to talk to that school board member to voice my support.

Mezzo

What do you do when the food service director refuses to even provide the lunch menu in advance because there is a "menu is subject to change without notice" disclaimer on the menu?

I can't get her to provide a menu ahead of time to even start to figure out what would be safe for DS to eat.

Do they give out the lunch menu for the month to all the kids?  Both of the districts we've been in do that, except for about the last week of the year, which is "cook's choice" (using up whatever's left). 

Our previous school district flagged the kids with FA's in the cafeteria's computer system, and at the primary school (kindergarten & 1st grade), they had their pictures with listed allergies hung up behind the counter (out of sight from the cafeteria) to help remind the servers.  DD didn't eat hot lunch, but some of the other FA kids did.

hedgehog

Ye, our school system has the allergic kids flagged in the computer, too. When they pay, they use their student ID. Their picture pops up, and allergies are noted. But they got to know my DS quickly, so that was not important (in our case) after that in elem. school. But very good for early on. And very good now--DS just moved to middle school, and we met the cafeteria manager before the year started, but no one else would recognize him yet.

PurpleCat

I could have written Hedgehogs post above (Our schools also use Meal Pay system.) and I could have written Donavansmom's original post with regard to the school. My DD has multiple food allergies.

I have had nothing but support from our school system for DD to purchase lunches since the beginning.

I get calls during the year if any vendors change and I am always welcome to the district books with labels and vendor information.

The companies I have had to call are fantastic! Back when my DD was allergic to egg I called the pasta place in the pacific northwest (Oregon I think) and that guy was amazing and concerned and told me if his child was like mine he would feel confident feeding his child the pasta. A dairy in Maine was fantastic too. They are the ones who taught me to find out if the dairy makes eggnog during the holidays in small cartons. If they do, no chocolate milk from mid November until January. Only white which is run first.

Pizza is out this year because the crust comes from a company that labels for possible cross contamination with sesame seeds. The district manager told me they might switch back to the other crust from a different bakery that does not have that issue. Both vendors are from Canada which is why they label for sesame. US vendors I call.

It can be done and it stinks that more school districts aren't better about this. It does help that our school district does a lot of their own cooking. For example, they make their own meatballs, meatloaf, sloppy joe filling, etc....

It is a great place for my DD to be learning how to fend for herself with adults watching over her that are not me.

We are having our meeting with the Middle School manager next week and then DD will take it from there as she has been doing for the last 3 years. She and the cafeteria manager will review the monthly menu and check ingredients for the meals DD wants to buy. If a company needs to be called, I do that as a follow up. They make a plan for the month.

My part is I email a weekly confirmation of what days DD will buy and what meal. Then if there is a last minute substitution due to missing ingredient they are careful what they use or they give DD something else that is safe or they are running out of an item, they will make sure to hold one so DD gets the original item.

It is rotten that the food service director is the problem.

Chicago

DD is in HS - and like others have mentioned, she is flagged in the computer via the "pay system". They do serve Uncrustables occasionally, and she does not buy lunch on that day. Otherwise most things are safe - they have 3 entree choices everyday, an always available salad bar (with no nuts)and a snack table with junk (but at least packaged and labeled junk).

When she started HS the distict coordinator went over things with me and dd did go meet the cafeteria staff who were very sweet to her and full of information. I was also impressed that the school nurse called me a week or so after she first started school to ensure that she was able to eat with no issues.

The food at her middle school was a different deal - one choice a day brought by an outside firm that was not able to have a nut free kitchen - although they did not use nuts in the school food they did lots of other cooking for different places. The food was great (I ate it a few times when volunteering) and fresh, they offered different portions (a K-garten student is not going to eat the same as an 8th grade boy!)which was smart. So I appeciated that the cafeteria was nut free even though due to the X cont. DD brought her own lunch.

ajasfolks2

Linking to other threads (as I find them) in Schools that discuss cafeteria offerings, accommodations, and problems:

http://allergy.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=13671&start=1