"Schools Can Help Combat Childhood Obesity While Lessening the Risk of Food Allergies in our Children"

by Denise Lewis, Founder, Food Allergy Connection, September 24, 2006

Childhood obesity and food allergies are two major health issues on the rise in children. Both of these conditions involve food, and both problems are of such concern that efforts are being made nationally to come up with ways to keep our children safe from the effects of these conditions. School districts nationwide have already begun making their cafeteria foods healthier, and from professional organizations to the grass roots efforts of concerned parents across the country, steps are being taken to establish effective and consistent protocols to keep our food-allergic children safe at school. When comparing food allergies with childhood obesity, I see some additional ways our nation’s schools can help with both. Clearly, our nation’s school system is only one area of concern when it comes to childhood obesity and food allergies, but since our children spend so much time in school, it’s worth focusing on now.

There has always been a significant emphasis on food in our schools, starting in preschool. Preschoolers and Kindergarteners normally attend school for 2-1/2 – 3 hours. Most children eat breakfast or lunch before going to school. About an hour or so into their school day, the children are given a snack. An hour or two later they go home and eat again. Even some hour-long special programs for children involve a snack. Then you have the seemingly endless birthday treats, treats as incentives, treats during testing time and treat bags as fund-raisers in the secondary schools, treats at after-school activities, and the list goes on. These traditions affect children from preschool to high school and may be creating more problems than we need.

Snack time is a fun time of day for our children, and it helps teach them how to socialize and develop table manners. However, many of the foods served to children at school, especially for birthday celebrations and class parties, are "fun" foods, i.e., "junk" foods. These foods are not only contributing to the obesity problem in children, they’re also making the lives of those affected by food-allergies, such as students, teachers and parents, very complicated and stressful. When food allergies are involved, the teacher is under a tremendous amount of pressure to monitor all food being served and has the huge responsibility of keeping the food-allergic children safe. All parents are affected as well, from the allergic child’s parents to the other parents who are forced to deal with the new restrictions that may have been implemented due to the food allergy. Then you have the food-allergic children who worry every time food is served, especially when away from home. Finding alternatives to snack time, birthday treats, class parties and other food-related activities would go a long way in helping with childhood obesity as well as food allergies. Here are some ideas to consider:

Downplay food in the school setting:

· Offer a healthy drink instead of food.

· Allow extra recess time in lieu of snack time, which would encourage more physical activity and take the focus off of food.

· Offer non-food treats for birthday celebrations and academic incentives such as stickers or other party favors.

· Play games or sing songs at school birthday parties instead of serving snacks.

· Have a special show-and-tell time featuring the birthday child, a friendly "roast" of the birthday child or a time for classmates to share special memories they’ve shared with the birthday child.

Offer only healthy snacks:

· Serve only fruits and vegetables (unless one of the children has allergies to any of these). This can also be fun and educational by seeing how creative you can be with the preparation and presentation.

· Serve healthy store-bought snacks with ingredient and nutrition labels. Use this as an opportunity to teach the children about nutrition and food allergies by teaching them how to read labels to determine whether or not a food is healthy and safe.

Children have plenty of time for "fun, junk" food while away from school, so why not let the parents decide for themselves whether or not they want their children to eat this type of food? Working together with the schools to develop alternatives to food-related activities will go a long way in combating two serious health concerns in our nation’s children. It may also make the lives of students, teachers and parents a bit less stressful along the way. Implementing these new "traditions" from as young an age as possible will encourage our children to grow up with healthier attitudes about food, making childhood obesity and accidental allergic reactions at school less common.

New Allergen Safe Treats Enjoyed by All

by Alicia Fleming

www.GoDairyFree.org

Conscientious friends, teachers, hosts, and family members can now serve, and indulge in, worry free delights alongside the food allergic. Two innovative, family-run companies have just expanded their allergy friendly offerings of delicious desserts and snacks.

After years of fine-tuning treats and snacks for her food allergic son, Jill Robbins launched Gak’s Snacks, a dedicated bakery that is peanut, tree nut, egg, dairy, and trans fat free. Her amazing Apple Coffee Cakes, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Brownie Chip Cookies were more than well received, as evidenced by the reviews on www.GoDairyFree.org. Yet Jill couldn’t stop there. Just in time for the holidays, she has released a new Cranberry Coffee Cake. Gak’s coffee cakes are certified whole grain, vegan, kosher pareve, and USDA organic. Healthy connotations aside, these are truly decadent desserts that everyone, allergic or not, will crave.

Where Gak’s Snacks leaves off with desserts, Nonuttin' Foods picks up with nutritious snacks that are safe for the classroom and kid-approved. In 2004, the Elliott family released their line of peanut, tree nut, egg, dairy, seed, and trans fat free Nonuttin' Granola Bars out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Their Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip, and Raisin flavors have become so popular that direct orders from U.S. customers are rivaling their loyal Canadian market. With such demand, Nonuttin’ Foods returned to product development. At last, they are releasing not one, but five new products. Vanilla Cinnamon Nibblies (a granola-like snack), Real Fruit Cherry Chips (for baking or snacking), 70% Dark Chocolate Chunks, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, and Sulfite Free Dried Apples have joined the ranks of allergen-free Nonuttin’ goodies. The Elliott family maintains a dedicated facility that is also vegan and certified kosher pareve.

Gak’s Snacks Coffee Cakes can be ordered online at www.GaksSnacks.com or by phone at (800) 552-7172. These high quality cakes sell for just $28.95 plus cooler. Their large fresh cookies can be purchased for as little as $5.99 per box of 8. Shipment is available throughout the U.S.

Nonuttin’ Foods are available online at www.Nonuttin.com or by phone at (866) 714-5411. Their new products range from $5.99 to $10.99 CDN per bag, or you can order a box of 16 granola bars for just $19.99 CDN. Shipment throughout Canada and the U.S. is readily available.

To receive discount coupons for both Gak’s Snacks and Nonuttin’ Foods order a copy of the new book “Dairy Free Made Easy: Thousands of Foods, Hundreds of Tips, and Dozens of Recipes for Non-Dairy Living.” This essential guide is only available through www.GoDairyFree.org, as quantities are limited.

According to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) scientists estimate that approximately 12 million Americans now suffer from true food allergies. This equates to over 4 percent of the population. Food-induced anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction) is believed to cause roughly 30,000 emergency room visits per year. For more information, visit the FAAN at www.foodallergy.org.

Banning Peanut Butter in the Schools

is Simply Nutty

by Denise Lewis, Founder, Food Allergy Connection

This may sound crazy coming from the parent of a child who is severely allergic to peanut products, but banning peanut butter in public schools or anywhere else is simply nutty.

Don't get me wrong. I am extremely pleased about the heightened awareness of peanut allergy and its dangers. Peanut allergy is a severe, life threatening condition and should be taken seriously. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, a national non-profit group, has done wonders in the promotion of this condition. In fact, it is because of their hard work that national and local food companies are now labeling their products more clearly when there is even the slightest risk of an allergic reaction due to peanut ingredients. Some of the labels now read, "May contain peanut or nut particles due to manufacturing." Some even list peanuts as the last ingredient on the label when the possibility of cross-contamination is high. This is extremely helpful to families who have a peanut-allergic member.

However, there are a number of reasons not to pursue a ban on peanut products in the schools. These reasons are all equally important, so they are not listed in order of importance:

1. A ban on peanut products would lead to resentment. The last thing any child needs is to be resented or ostracized by his peers, especially if he already feels different, which most food-allergic children do. There are so many children who love peanut butter and many parents who depend on peanut butter as a source of inexpensive nourishment for their children. Banning peanut products would only cause resentment toward the allergic child and problems for everyone involved.

2. A ban on peanut products would lead to a false sense of security. If a school or school district banned peanut products, the peanut-allergic child would have every reason to take the situation for granted and would have no reason to learn about his allergies. When the child is out of that protected environment, the consequences could be deadly. The allergic child would not know how to handle his allergy in the real world. An allergic reaction is much more likely to happen when a person is uneducated about the problem. Many allergic reactions happen to those who are educated about the allergy, so you can imagine how risky it is to be in the dark about the problem. Ultimately, it should be the parents' responsibility to educate the child and the child's teachers and caregivers so the child is as safe as possible outside the home. There are sources available for help in successfully carrying out this monumental task.

3. A ban on peanut products would be too hard to monitor. Banning peanut products is more complicated than not allowing peanut butter at school. There are many products with hidden peanut ingredients, like peanut oil and peanut flour, not to mention the likelihood of cross contamination in products like nuts, cookies, chocolate and other foods that may be processed on shared equipment with peanut products. Who would monitor each food item coming in and out of the school? This problem goes hand-in-hand with the previously mentioned problem of a false sense of security. What if something sneaks in that has peanut residue, peanut particles or peanut ingredients? The allergic child would feel so safe about the peanut ban that he would have no reason to question what foods he is eating. This is a dangerous situation indeed and one that should be avoided at all costs.

4. Where do you draw the line? Granted, peanut allergy is an extremely serious allergy and should be handled very carefully on a daily basis. However, there are other food allergies that can be just as severe. What about children with severe allergies to milk products, wheat, soy or shellfish, to name a few? Are the schools prepared to ban these products as well? Or what about students who are allergic to bee stings? These children can have the same type of severe allergic reaction as children with food allergies. Would there be a ban on recess so that the allergic child would not get stung at school? It is hard to draw the line when it comes to this issue.

Instead of banning peanut products in the schools, why not develop an educational program district wide to educate faculty as well as students. Children are like sponges. They absorb an unbelievable amount of information. Most children would be able to learn and understand a great deal about food allergies and could be a tremendous help in keeping the allergic children safe at school. This promotes teamwork, not resentment, and I have to think this would be a better environment for everyone.

It is extremely important that an allergic child be educated about his allergies, even if it is scary for him. It is possible to educate an allergic child and promote a respect for the allergy without scaring the child so much that he is afraid to function outside the home. Again, it is ultimately the parents' responsibility to educate those involved, but this is a difficult job to do alone. The school districts could be a tremendous help to those families with food allergic children if they had a district wide plan in place.

Many young children with food allergies are very responsible children when it comes to their restrictions, and in some ways they are mature beyond their years because of what they have gone through. However, most of them feel "different" or "weird" because of their allergies. If the schools were involved in this educational process, the allergic children might not feel so different and singled out.

With each passing year, school districts will see more and more children with food allergies entering their schools. Now is the time to develop an educational program and protocol for dealing with this situation. It is far better to develop a long-term plan rather than to provide an ineffective quick fix to the serious and escalating problem of food allergies.