Elementary- Food Precautions

[LikeTheDeadSea, MSN, RN]

Our district is looking at becoming more uniform among the schools on our food restrictions.

We have buildings that say no food for birthdays and holiday parties, ones that say only for holiday parties, ones that are bring-in whenever. Only common thing right now is that everything must have a label to be checked against allergy lists.

What does your school do?

(Also, extra special bonus points if you have a favorite piece of information that you like to share with parents/PTO/admin)

Thanks, and HAPPY FRIDAY!!

[OldDude]

On the elementary level, district wide, we don't allow home made/home prepared food at any time in the classroom. It must be store bought with the ingredient label attached. We allow for birthday/other celebrations in the classroom but it must be the last period of the day.

Hope this helps a little.

[denstar]

Our school used to do the same as OldDude, however, we had many parents who either didn't realize, or purposely ignored the rule and either brought in home made items, or store bought items without the label. The number of treats getting sent home was getting a little out of control too, between every single birthday and every single holiday. It actually worked out well that a group of parents formed a group to reduce the amount of sugar in school and we now do not allow food related treats to be shared at school. Parents can bring in other small gifts to share with classmates, and/or donate a book to their class. I was worried how the policy change was going to go over, but the positive feedback far outweighed any negative, and parents overall are very ahppy with the change, and for new parents coming in, they accept it as the just the way it is.

My children's school (they attend a different school) do the same. The kids love it, as when they bring their book in the principal takes their picture with it and gets put on the wall in the school lobby.

[SaltineQueen]

Parents can bring treats from home and we don't restrict what is brought. We also have an option where parents can buy certain things the cafeteria offers for breakfast/lunch (granola bars, slushie cups, apples, etc.) for the class. The kids who may have issues with things either bring their own treat or we give them one of the slushie cups.

[WineRN]

We don't allow any food for parties/celebrations. We still have snack time in our school, but there are a few schools that have piloted no snacks and are having really great results (less waste in the cafeteria, less mess in the classroom, less stomach aches post lunch etc). That is the direction I think are whole district will be heading towards in the next few years.

Right now we are allergy friendly, so there multiple peanut and tree nut free rooms (at least 1 per grade level) but not EVERY room is peanut free.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Over here in the high school we just started selling peanut products in the lunch line....they're made separately and not to order because "we believe that the teenagers know what to avoid."

They also have hummus which looks pretty good, and a cheese plate, though.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

The kids who may have issues with things either bring their own treat or we give them one of the slushie cups.

I would like a slushie cup...what is in that?

[aprilmoss]

By the end of my elementary school time, we'd finally just banned food in the classrooms. It just caused too much problem. The "trend" switched to ordering in pizza which was consumed in the cafeteria.

[Amethya]

My child's school and mine allow cupcakes and such for birthdays. A lot of the parents are conscious of allergies and will ask the teacher and me about it, as well the children with allergies are pretty smart about it and know what not to eat.

[BrisketRN, BSN, RN]

We have very strict food rules. We are a private school, and many parents send their kids here specifically because we take food allergies very seriously. Lunch is included in tuition, and our cafeteria is peanut and tree nut free (though we say "aware" just in case a nut slips into manufactured food) and caters to many food allergies, intolerances, and ethical/religious food preferences. For birthday treats parents can pay a small fee to have our cafeteria hand out some sort of treat (usually cupcakes or cookies) to their child's class during the last 20 minutes of school. The cafeteria ensures the treat is safe for all of the children to enjoy.

[SaltineQueen]

I would like a slushie cup...what is in that?

They're yummy! 100% fruit juice, frozen, different flavor combos. Lemon/raspberry is my favorite

[BeckyESRN]

We allow only non-food treats for birthdays/valentine's day/ect. Our 2 holiday parties are skinny pop popcorn and water/apple juice only. However, my kid came home with a ton of candy on Valentine's day last year.