Parents and Schools: Joining Together to Make Food Allergy Management Work

Image courtesy of Chelsey Amer NutritionMaking sure students with food allergies are safe in schools is always a community effort, joining everyone together- parents, the allergic children, schoolmates, medical providers, school faculty, and public officials who make policy.

The greatest advocates though for allergic children must always be their parents. This was a key theme of the third and final session of the School Nutrition Foundation’s webinar series dealing with food allergies.

Parents are the ones who need to both inform everyone else about their children’s medical issues as well as become educated about what benefits their children are entitled to have.

Emphasizing this position was Deb Scherrrer, vice president of education programs at the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, who said, “The parents educate the school staff about the child’s medical condition. They collaborate with the school chain to establish avoidance strategies and participate in the development of the emergency plan.”

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Getting the Most Out of Food Allergy Management Programs in Schools

Graphic courtesy of Nosneezezone.com.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.- Food allergies are a growing concern in school nutrition. “It has been estimated that about 11 million Americans have a food allergy, representing about two percent of adults, and six to eight percent of children under the age of three,” said Jeannie Sneed, a food safety specialist with the USDA Food and Nutrition Services.

Ms. Sneed gave her comments during the first session of the School Nutrition Foundation’s three-part webinar series. In this first session dealing with managing food allergies in schools, Ms. Sneed added that, “school nutrition personnel are being asked more and more frequently to accommodate food allergy needs, so we believe that it is important to provide opportunities to dialogue about the role of school nutrition in meeting these demands.”

According to Ms. Sneed, approximately 90 percent of all food allergies are the results of an immune response, such as an anaphylactic reaction, to the following foods/ingredients: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, wheat, soy, fish, and shell fish.

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Schools Invite Parents to Attend a Free Interactive Web Series on Food Allergies

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ALEXANDRIA, Va.- Parents who have children with food allergies are always worrying that their children will eat something they shouldn’t. School systems hold the same concerns for the students that they are entrusted with.

One measure being taken by school systems in collaboration with city, state, and federal official is a free three-part interactive web seminar series entitled, ‘Managing Food Allergies in Schools.’

The first installment of the series will take place on April 29, and will provide an overview of eight major food allergens, and the legal responsibilities of school districts to accommodate students with these allergies. The School Nutrition Foundation, which is sponsoring, organizing, and hosting the series, was unavailable for comment in time for this posting to elaborate on what allergies would be discussed.

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