Nightmare lunch box type ban at school

[lunchme]

DS is 7 and attends a special school.

They have a new pupil coming in and the new list of banned foods are things containing -

Peanuts
Cashews
Sesame
Milk
Wheat
Barley
Almond
Pork

They announced this on our class up this afternoon and no further instruction! But they insist on DS having packed lunch and not school dinners since he likes lunches better because he's seen other kids having crisps etc

My DS has an allergy of sesame and his other classmate was peanuts. The other allergies are all from one child

This isn't to slag off a poor child. I just wish they'd give more notice than a Thursday afternoon

Yep, what would even be in pork, that's not in other meat? Is there a specific protein that's in pork but isn't in chicken/beef/turkey etc? I'd be really very surprised if there is!

The risks are significant and can’t be ignored but there are other ways of managing this. The child with the severe allergies can eat in a different room, then all children are supervised to wash hands thoroughly after eating before they go back in to class.

I’d suggest you ask the school/kitchen to check what the issue is with wheat/barley and what their policy is on managing food allergies and intolerances.

My DD is coeliac and cannot eat wheat/barley. At both of her schools they have been strictly nut free schools (because nut allergies are deadly) but as regards coeliacs they prepare DD’s food in a separate area but that’s it. And yes a single crumb can give her severe pain bloating and immediate diarrhoea, often bloody. But I don’t expect everyone else to go gluten free.

Perhaps the school has got muddled between nut allergy procedures and gluten free procedures?

If you do find yourself forced to go GF then for packed lunches I highly recommend GF pasta salad.

Nuts and sesame, yes but the rest is ridiculous. No one is going to have anaphylactic shock from wheat (yes I know they might be coeliac but as long as they don't eat it or touch their food they will be OK). Can't imagine anyone is allergic to pork either in a way that someone across the table from them having a ham sandwich would cause problems.

Absolutely, some of these replies read like people are talking to an NT adult who's in a workplace lunch rut and looking for alternatives to their usual ham butty. It's just not that simple with a lot of SN kids!

I'm laughing at the thought of trying to get an adult to eat gf bread with vegan cheese let alone a child!

That aside, I'd be concerned that it could cause some of the children to be worried about what they eat and cause some unhealthy eating patterns to develop, it's just another issue I'm pretty sure parents could do without.

"I didn't know people could be allergic to pork" - people can be allergic to ANYTHING. Even water - not the chemicals added to water, actual H20. Thankfully it's rare, and is a contact allergy, not a digestion one.

Absolutely possible to be anaphylactic to wheat (although rare) I knew someone who was and yes even crumbs would be enough- although I believe it did have to be ingested not just touched.

What does your DS usually have in his sandwich, and would he eat wraps instead instead of bread. I understand it can be difficult for some children to change their food.

Wraps are still wheat though so wouldn't fit this criteria.

If a child has such a sever wheat allergy that consuming airborne flour particles could cause anaphylaxis, I do think they should sit separately at lunch time, not expect everyone else in the school to avoid an very basic food group!

And PORK??!! That's a choice!

Good point. The school should have appropriate lunchtime supervision with the multiple food allergies child being sat away from other kids lunchboxes and out of range of being able to be given other kids food.

@TitsInAbsentia and nutrition and expense considerations - dairy is an important source of calcium in most children's diets, and vegan substitutes aren't normally always comparable nutritionally. It's also cost, having an SEN kid has a huge effect on finances in the first place, and to add the expenditure of buying the free from versions of food when it's not needed for your own household would be unwelcome to most I'd have thought.

I agree with the first part. However pork could absolutely be an allergy!

We have two Carly as in the family and as long as they don't eat the gluten it's fine. I get the no peanuts / sesame but the child would need to eat the pork to be bothered by it. Protest this blanket ban ( except the airborne stuff of course).

*Celiacs

The list has said bread, not wheat. If the school meant wheat/gluten they should have made that clear. Other wheat based products aren’t listed, like biscuits and cake slices etc.

Some wraps are gluten free, they are more expensive and can be more dense though.

Apologies I missed that. That's odd.

Oops, sorry I thought the list said bread I got that wrong.

I would make a schedule where you pack the same lunch on specific days that way it becomes automated. For instance: Monday = homemade dairy and wheat-free muffin with sliced cucumber & tomato and fruit. Tuesday = lentil pasta (we use a brand of pasta that is just made from lentils), veggies and fruit. Wednesday = roasted squash with quinoa, etc.

I know just examples trying to imagine having the time to prepare and cook all of these, and also cost of purchasing the ingredients. Also I know my DN would really struggle with the texture especially when cold of such food!

People questioning the validity of the allergies or suggesting they can't all be serious, are being ignorant.

There are many "multi allergy" kids out there.

My DS is Anaphylactic to dairy, egg, nuts, legumes, Sesame, fish and Kiwi.

Trace amounts to any of these could cause a fatal reaction.

Any allergen can cause an allergy when airborne e.g. cooking fish, steaming milk, heating nuts.

I'd suspect the main worry here would be crumbs/spills or children touching the allergic boy with hands on their clothes/skin.

I do think it's unreasonable to ask that all children exclude these items, especially dairy and wheat.
It would generally be the case that the school needs to make the classroom safe to the child in other ways (enforced handwashing, separate tables etc.)

Are all the allergies airborne though? If they are, fair enough. But maybe not all.
My dc has multiple food allergies, but not airborne, so in ks1, they made sure he sat in specific table closely monitored by staff so he won't get exposed to other children's lunches.
Since it's special school, it maybe difficult to monitor the child with allergy getting exposed, but there must be more decent way to deal with this, banning things like wheat seems really extreme, unless the child is severely allergic and have reaction just be in the same room.

But then I have no problem providing my dc without all the banned food on your list.

My daughter is in special school and that does seem crazy to me ! Actually just looked again at list! That's insane! She eats sausage and pasta everyday! And sausage and bread other days!

@KillingLoneliness no, those other allergens can be as serious as your nut allergy.

@Tamarindtree protecting a child who has allergies is absolutely not pandering to a minority 🤦🏼‍♀️

We have a child with dairy allergy, another with gluten allergy and another allergic to dairy, soya, oats and eggs and it’s really hard. I think the best thing to do is talk to the school and try to get some clarification on the list so that the needs of the allergy child can be met without compromising the needs of the other special needs children.

quinoa with roasted squash
christ