OPERATIONS
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Warren requires that all of her school nutrition teams are trains in CPR/First Aid, food allergy response and food safety. “We practice continuous training throughout the year,” she says. “The goal should always be both safety and inclusion.” BEST PRACTICES Food Allergy Management in Schools (FAMS): Expert Recommendations for K-12 is free-to-download guide from FARE including suggestions that are evidence-based and practical and written for the whole school community, not just the foodservice team. School Food Rocks’ guide outlines similar best practices, which fall under a few main areas including training, com- munication, cafeteria design, emergency preparedness and team coordination/ cross-department training. Training is the foundation for safety. Everyone should understand food allergies vs. intolerance, be able
to recognize a reaction, how to use an epi pen/emergency protocol and food safety. The School Nutrition Association offers training modules on these areas. Parent and stakeholder communi- cation begins and ends with transparen- cy. Share your peanut-aware policy be- fore putting it into action and reinforce the plan with printed handouts and dig- ital messages and parent letters. Get the school nurses in on every step of this. Ellen Eichenbaum, lead RD with Menu Analytics, a nutrition consultancy, recommends using available platforms, like Nutrislice, to help share all the info. “Menu Analytics strongly encourages schools to provide food allergy transparency by publishing weekly or monthly menus that include allergen information,” Eichenbaum says. “Schools can easily share online through platforms like Nutrislice making this critical information accessible to families.” Design of a peanut-aware cafeteria
should have designated (and supervised) allergen-safe tables (where friends who don’t have food allergies but have allergen-free meals can also sit), signage on handwashing and cleaning protocols for surfaces, utensils and trays. In case of emergency , every student with a diagnosed allergy should have a current Individual Allergy Action Plan, accessible medicine available (such as an epi pen) at all times and a trained group of staff (mentioned above). Cross-department training gets nurses, principals, teachers and transportation involved. Printed allergy action plans should be up in the nurse’s office, kitchen and main office. Emergency drills should happen annually, too. In a nutshell, as Tepper says, “safety always comes first. But with clear protocols, trained staff and thoughtful planning, we can safely serve a wide range of foods while supporting student nutrition and American agriculture.”
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QUARTERLY | Q2
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