An Entire Menu of Changes for District 89

District 89 will be serving up new food policies next fall – and not everyone’s happy about what’s on the menu. 

The state has mandated that school boards across the state adopt regulated standards on how it handles food in light of growing concerns amid increased food allergies. In the district at least 1 in every 20 children have a food allergy, which means about one child in every classroom is affected.   

As a result, parents will no longer be allowed to bring in snacks or treats for a child’s birthday. If parents bring in food of any kind, the teacher will not distribute the food, and will return the goods to the parent at the end of the school day, schools officials said. 

“There is no reason to have to bring in treats.  You don’t have to celebrate your birthday with food,” said Sandy Lawinger, nurse for District 89. 

And Lawinger said some parents aren’t happy about the new plan.

“I (over) heard a parent say, 'The rest of us have to suffer for the few.’ But for the most part, it’s OK. We’re not going to make everybody happy,” she said.

If there is a classroom celebration the only food allowed in the classroom will have to comply with USDA dietary guidelines. That way teachers and students will be able to read the ingredient labels. This puts a halt on allowing foods prepared at home into the classroom.   

And while the district is attempting to control what food is acceptable in the classroom, it acknowledges its inability to regulate the lunchroom where highly allergic foods such as peanuts and tree nuts will still be permitted.

Lawinger said that when parents know that there’s a child with a peanut allergy they should not send lunches with those kinds of items. The district may have a handle on monitoring food in the classroom but Lawinger said the lunchroom is a different story. 

 “Somebody has to police that,” said Lawinger.  “We have to look through all the sack lunches.  We can’t monitor all of that.  We can control that in the classroom, but not in the lunchroom,” she said. 

 What’s next on the horizon for school allergen policy is a new law that will protect a segment of children who are walking around with undiagnosed food allergies.

The governor is expected to sign legislation that requires schools to carry EpiPens, and will require all teachers to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction, and that educated are aware how to administer an EpiPen.

An EpiPen is a shot that is used in an emergency situation when someone is experiencing a severe allergic reaction. 

Currently if a child with an undiagnosed allergy has a reaction and the parent has not provided an EpiPen, the school can’t use the EpiPen of another child on the student having the reaction, said Lawinger.

 “The law will change that we can have them on hand to use as needed,” she said, “The question is who will prescribe them.  That’s the next issue.”

 And the last change to next year’s food policy is that children will now be provided a daily hot lunch. The district has contracted Preferred Meal Systems in Berkeley to provide the service. 

 Currently the school provides bag lunches for students containing apples or cold sandwiches. With the new policy going into effect in August, students who choose to will be able to purchase a hot meal for lunch. For more information about Preferred Meal Systems, click here.