Should schools ban home-packed lunches?

There was an article published in the Chicago Tribune about one school banning all home-packed lunches except for medical conditions or food allergies (which itself is a medical condition, but I digress), and allowing only school-served meals.

The local morning show talked about it as well, and polled viewers if this should be the case. At last check, the results were 80% to 20% against. And the story has launched a debate across the Internet – The article’s link on Fark.com was a multiple choice question, stating “Chicago school bans a) soda in school, b) peanuts, or c) bagged lunches from home”, and sporting an “asinine” tag to launch its comments.

One morning that I was home I caught an episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which focuses on the unhealthy choices offered to children through over-regulated school meal programs. It was appalling, to say the least, and the school involved in the episode didn’t like the attention. It seems par for the course, as Jamie Oliver hit a similar snag with the Los Angeles Unified School District – reported here by Fox News.

So what do you think? Is the whole thing a good idea or not?

Information Night

At the end of January the boys’ school hosted an Information Night (specifically, a “Healthy Eating and Student Achievement Parent Workshop”), and the principal asked Krystyne to be there as the resident expert on food allergies for the school.

The information night was held for anyone interested in knowing more about nutrition, allergies, and peanut-/nut- safe foods to bring to school.

In all it was a good night, we answered a few questions from some of the parents, and also in attendance were a health nurse from Sick Kids’ hospital, local co-op farmers – including the CSA that we belong to, Cooper’s CSA Farm & Maze – and John Beatty, one of the members from the Durham District School Board.

The cool part was being referred to as “the resident expert on food allergies” for the school.

What a Year!

After a gruelling year of allergy tests, family trauma, exhilarating highs and excruciating lows …

LIAM IS NO LONGER AIRBORNE-ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS!!!

Now, he is still touch-allergic and definitely taste-allergic … anaphylactic at that … but after blood tests, smear tests, and even a blind peanut challenge, we now have had at least a large amount of stress removed from our shoulders.

I remember many times us saying, “if even he were not airborne-allergic …”, and now that’s a reality. It means that we no longer have to monitor what everyone else eats (a relief to both us and other parents), and we can return to only watching what our own family eats.

And, speaking of which, we’ve found another peanut-free (and diet-friendly) snack.

Cheecha Krackles are a Canadian puffed potato snack product that are produced in a nut-free facility, come in a variety of flavours, and also offer a gluten-free line. Oh, and did I mention that there are 0 Trans Fats, Less than 3 grams of fat, and only 89 calories in a 2-cup portion! Careful, though – they are very tasty and therefore extremely addictive.

No Traction

Today, as I sit in the school parking lot, it is –20 degrees Celsius here in Uxbridge – hence the inspiration for the post title. However it also explains the reason why this blog has been quiet for so many months. I knew that if I started writing about anything related to peanut allergies, too many raw emotions and soured words would bubble to the top to allow for a readable post.

Sadly, there have been no improvements in the situation at school. We are still not allowed to check all of the lunches in Liam’s classroom, nor are we allowed to check the lunches of the class that mixes with his twice a week. The school board seems to be dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s, as the last we heard from them was to ask for Liam’s allergist and our family doctor to write – in their own words – the same information that was included in Liam’s allergen avoidance policy. So … no traction there.

In the meantime …

The grand total of allergic reactions Liam has had since this all started is six. Six reactions in a matter of two months, after two years of no reactions while in Junior and Senior Kindergarten, where community snacks were still being provided by the parents. We finally decided that Liam would stay home on days when the classes merged. The final straw came through a short conversation with one of Liam’s friends from the other Grade One class.

On this morning while Liam’s classmates were presenting their lunches to Krystyne for a visual inspection (yes, this is what the board has dictated, since we can’t touch their lunchboxes), a little girl from the other classroom told her, “you’re not doing a very good job at checking our lunches.”

Questions about the lunch checks have become common since the change in policy, but this comment was a little surprising. Krystyne politely explained that we’re not allowed to check her class’ lunches anymore. Then she asked why.

“Because there are some kids eating Peanut Butter Cups for snack.”

WHUUUUAAAAAAT????

We don’t know whether it’s true or not, but we weren’t about to take any more chances. We know the girl and her family well and trust that she wouldn’t lie to us, and that would help explain why Liam reacted whenever the classes merged. Either way – true or not – we were unwilling to take any more chances with Liam’s life. So on mornings when the classes are slated to merge, Liam stays home until lunch, and the desks are washed down before he gets there for the afternoon.

Some progress at the school

There is some good news in all of this. In November the principal started a parent's advisory board on food allergies, of which Krystyne is a member. They review the school’s policies to help keep all of the food-allergic students safe. At the last meeting, they learned that the school will be putting a sink outside the primary grade classrooms so the children can wash their hands more often and more easily, rather than having to travel down two floors to the washrooms.

So, out of the frustration with this situation comes hope for some of the other parents at the school.