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We don't have kids and the rules are clearly very different these days. There are quite a few children at the shelter right now and many of them came in today for pantry day. School break snacks were mentioned and parents shot down quite a few possibilities due to school rules. I didn't ask since there were a lot of people there.
Could someone please explain the way kids eat at public school now and what they are or are not allowed to bring in?
Thank you.
I would say to be careful of things like food allergies, a lot of schools are peanut free now. You might be able to check your local school system website for guidelines...
They have a school menu but I couldn't find anything about what's prohibited. Lots of cheese pizzas and hot dogs on there. Fruit and milk too, but still.Quote:
Originally Posted by MySprockette
We couldn't bring in home baked goods- commercially prepared and wrapped were okay.
You mean snacks they can bring to school for snack time?
Food allergies are a big thing these days. Some schools restrict nuts of any sort, tree nuts or peanuts, sometimes the whole school, sometimes just an individual classroom. So, in addition to actual nuts, peanut butter crackers would not be allowed or anything with peanut or other nut butter. Likewise things fried in peanut oil. It would also include most granola type bars. If you didn't get a clear idea from the parents of what items are not allowed and why, then I'd check in with them again to get a better sense of the broader categories of foods not permitted.
First I'd say no home made stuff, only purchased and labeled foods. Fresh fruits such as apples or oranges or bananas might be OK, but check before purchasing. As someone above said, they generally cannot be home made for both hygiene and allergy reasons. Schools try hard to make sure kids do not share snacks with classmates if there are kids with allergies in the class.
There are some brands of chips/pretzels that are not made in a facility or on machinery where nuts are processed but you'd have to look at the ingredient list for the notice of potential allergens. I've seen them in those big boxes with a variety of small bags of chips or pretzels. On the Sams Club site just now I saw a 30 pack box of small snack bags by Frito-Lay and the allergen notice only said Milk Products. I'm not a big fan of the fruit gummy type snacks, but some kids bring them. Cheese sticks, little bags of vegetables. Some schools also only want "healthy" snacks brought in, so find out if that is also an issue since it might rule out things like gummy fruit snacks. If they want drinks, I'd stick to the little 8 ounce water bottles, not flavored, artificially sweetened or sugar containing drinks.
If it's primarily nuts that are the issue, here's a webpage of some nut-free snacks. Even if a packaged item shows up on her list, I'd check the Allergen notice on the packaging before purchasing it to make sure nothing has changed.
50+ Nut-Free Snacks for School - Holley Grainger, MS, RD
Good to know about homemade goods. I would have thought that would be the most controlled food. Apparently not! I'll definitely check out that list, smartrock. Thanks.
My plan is to provide a variety of options so that the parents can choose for their particular needs. It's good to know what some of the considerations are. Most of them don't want to ask. The wish list generally stays blank. They're horrified enough that they even have to come there. But I could approach the school system that I'm sure most of those kids use since it's not posted.
As a school nurse, I often have to check foods brought in from home for birthday parties or other celebrations against lists of kids with food allergies. If most of the kids go to the same elementary or middle school, the school nurse would not only know what allergies kids have but also what other considerations for snacks there should be. In my experience, the principal or ass't principal generally let the nurse handle that stuff and the school district food services are mainly concerned about the breakfasts or lunches they provide, not about snacks kids bring in from home. You might have to contact the individual schools if you need more specifics.
The kids will be so happy to have a snack they can bring in so that they are like every other kid in the class who brings a snack. I've known some teachers who kept big bags of pretzels or boxes of goldfish for kids who didn't have snacks and they'd dole out a portion from a large bag. And if they don't do that, the kids go without a snack while everyone else is having their pretzels or little Halo oranges or whatever they brought. If the teacher gives out the snack, then the other kids in the class know which kids get their snacks from the teacher instead of bringing them from home. Anything to not only provide the food they need but make them not stand out as being different from their classmates seems like a small thing but it's super important. I applaud your efforts.
One main reason for only commercially made and packaged goods is that it's easier to determine what allergens are present because it should be on the label. Even baked cupcakes or muffins from a grocery store bakery will have a label listing ingredients and should indicate allergens as well. If stuff is home made, you haven't a clue as to possible cross contamination or anything else about how it was made.
My grands school supply snacks. A lot of them are small bags of mini carrots, and other veggies. Small containers of juice. Don't know where the school gets the prepackaged veggies but always look fresh.