Help me create a reasonable nut allergy policy for DSs school

[zen-ozz]

DS just started kindergarten. I have been stressed about the food and health issue bacause we eat a very healthy diet and I don't want him exposed to tons of refined foods during snack time. Currently, snack is brought in by a different child each day and shared with all the kids in the class.

We got a note home with the snack schedule. The note stated that parents are not allowed to homebake snacks because there are several children with nut allergies in the K classes. All snacks must be in a container with an ingredients list. The child in DSs class has a peanut allergy. The school has decided that all classes in the whole school must follow this policy. So, no tree nuts in DSs class even though the student is not allergic to tree nuts.

I don't have any problem with accomodating the kids with allergies.
BUT !!!! I have never in my life bought a cake (for the birthday snack) from a store and I am really having a hard time wrapping my head around it! Those grocery store cakes are so full of garbage and I don't want my kids eating it! Plus, it seems to me that I am always reading labels that say "made in a facitlity where nuts are used." Is this food really safe for these kids?? We dont' even shop at a grocery store! We go to our local, very small, natural foods store where lots of stuff is sold in bulk -- so no ingredient list.

Any ideas on how I can incorporate our healthier diet while being respectful of the kids with nut allergies? I am really wanting to draft a new policy to propose to the school, but I don't want to step on any of the parents or kids feelings. By the way, I think the principal was pretty non-receptive to the parent's needs about this. At the kindergarten info night last winter, a number of parents asked if there was a nut-free table in the cafeteria. The principal said no and immediately moved to the next question without saying anything supportive to the parents.

Any thoughts would be so appreciated!!!!

Kristin

[wenat]

I can tell you that it scares me to have anyone baking for my extremely allergic son.

What if you made peanut butter cookies on your cookie sheet, and then all the peanut didn't get washed off? (Peanut is notoriously sticky.) What if you stirred the batter with a wooden spoon that might have some peanut butter traces left in the cracks?

And also, shopping in the bulk food aisle is a total no-no for allergic families. The amount of cross-contamination there is frightening.

But what surprises me is the idea of shared snacks. What if the kid doesn't like the snack that's brought in that day? A lot of kids hate trying new things, and this sounds like a good way for kids to not eat snacks at all.

What about sending fresh fruit? Or does it have to be a cooked snack?

[circlemama]

I understand your position. I have a food allergic child AND we don't eat processed foods. My kids go to a nut free school. The teachers buy the snacks, I bring in my dd's own snack, not only do I know that it is safe for her, but she isn't eating hydrogenated, artificial color, corn syrup snacks. Even if she wasn't food allergic, I would want a better snack for her. Sometimes, they have fresh fruit, which I let her have. Many other things about the school are great, the nut policy is great, the provided snacks suck, the teachers are great, the families are great. I had to weigh the pros and cons. I can't change the teacher, but I can change the snack.

[zen-ozz]

I can understand being afraid about having others bake for your allergic child. I guess my problem is that I know that MY particular kitchen is as safe, of not safer, than the local grocery chain. I am also aware that not everyone's kitchen is the same as mine and I know that not everyone can be trusted to respect and understand the importance of keeping it all nut-free.

My concern about the baked goods arises from the fact that there are 21 kids in the class. I think that works out to at least two birthdays per month, plus all the holiday celebrations. We are talking about these crappy, disgusting cakes and cupcakes and cookies from the grocery chain bakeries -- food dyes, hydrogenated oils, refined starches and sugars. I don't want my son to eat like that. I would send in fruit anyway -- that is just how we eat. But many parents won't. For my DSs birthday snack, I will go to a local bakery and special order. Many parents wont or can't (it can be quite expensive).

I am at the point where I beleive that it might be best to ask that each child bring in there own snack each day. This seems like the safest for the food allergy kids and the healthiest for my child.