Do you keep snacks in your office?

[nurseshajwani]

General Snacks for the students? Maybe your diabetic kids? Do any of you keep them on hand to help a hungry child out? Curious to what everyone does!

[schooldistrictnurse]

Parents supply juice boxes and snacks for kids with diabetes. You may be surprised at how fast you can go through juice with them. In a pinch, I can get a juice from the kitchen.

Saltines from the kitchen for kids in general.

[shellfrmmo, ASN, BSN, LPN, LVN, RN]

I do have snacks and juice for my diabetics but they usually supply their own. Mine are for use only if they run out.

We also have saltines for our stomach ache students and peppermints.

If students have special needs I have their parents bring in stuff from home.

[oslandaa]

We have fast acting glucose tabs and gel for our diabetics. For our non-diabetic population, I just make my way to the cafeteria and talk with the lunch hostess, and she supplies me with plenty of snacks to hand out to students with stomach aches that skipped their breakfast.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

Honestly, we have a breakfast program and very wasteful kids here. So the kids know to take the sealed, untouched packaged foods they're not going to eat and leave it on a table in the cafeteria in the morning for me. It doesn't take me long to get swimming in a sea of graham crackers, juice pouches, string cheese, animal crackers and single serve cereal bowls. Kids are free to come if they need a snack. And i don't bother to tell diabetics to even bring juice anymore I get so inundated.

[tictac]

My clinic assistant used to have cafeteria duty in the morning and would grab the cereals, bananas, milk, etc. that were left untouched. Someone from the cafeteria told her that she wasn't allowed to do that and it had to be thrown away. What?? She kept doing it anyway. The kids who throw away their untouched breakfasts are the ones who show up in the clinic hungry later in the morning asking for food. Guess what I offer them? I also tell them that next time they want to throw away perfectly good food because they don't "like" it. They will be hungry until lunchtime. Most of these students are on free lunch and it is insane the amount of food that is wasted. I also purchase plain animal crackers to keep in the clinic.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

I got the same message - that the SEALED package was to be discarded if a child had touched it. By the same logic a sealed package would have to be discarded if a child had picked up a bag of chips at the store and placed it down. I can see them saying that the item can;t be sold again. or can;t be served if opened or the package torn. That makes total sense. But untouched, sealed packaged food going to waste while I have kids going hungry at my own school - no ma'am. I won't do it.

[shellfrmmo, ASN, BSN, LPN, LVN, RN]

Just remember on Stauffer's animal crackers and Brach's peppermints and other snack items to check the label for food allergies. Those two products in particular are manufactured in a facility that may manufacture tree nuts, peanuts, soy....

Always check the label. It is amazing what foods have that precaution. I stay away from being those things. Its just too risky now. too many kids with food allergies. Don't forget to check dyes also.

[amnesiac1c]

I do keep saltines for upset/empty stomachs. My school has another person who is supposed to take care of feeding kids who missed breakfast in the morning but they usually let me keep some of their granola bars for the kids who slip past them & end up in my office with "tummy aches" from being hungry. Parents provide all other snacks & applesauce/pudding/etc if needed to give with meds.

[AdobeRN]

Parents supply all snacks that are needed for medications or those needed for the diabetic kids. I do keep saltines, apple & orange juice in my office - used for upset tummy, no breakfasts, "forgot my snack" kids & sometimes the juice is used for the diabetics if they have run out of their own supply.

If I start seeing the same kids on a regular basis complaining of hunger due to no breakfast or that they forgot a snack I will contact the parent just to give them a heads up.

Great idea of putting unopened items to the side instead of tossing - with all the government changes and requirements with the kids and school lunches it is almost unbelievable the amount of food that is thrown away by these kids. I am going to check into this idea and see if I can use it.

[coughdrop.2.go, BSN, RN]

I have saltines for upset/empty stomachs and some gold fishes for a little variety. It's amazing how much some crackers, water, and a little rest can go a long way. One of my offices has a water cooler, the other doesn't so I brought a gallon of water from Walmart that I would just refill. Now I'm going to see about getting a water cooler in my office or something the District can come up with. The water from the tap isn't very drinkable here and sometimes black water shoots out of that tap so I don't trust it to even wash my hands.

[longislandjade]

My district also has the breakfast program so I have a bunch of nutri-grain bars, applesauce, dry cereal. I like the idea of having crackers though for those tummy aches.