Managing Food Allergies …a Team Approach Jamie Lewis, RD Dietitian Specialist Brevard Public Schools

Managing food allergies Team Approach Parent School Administration/ Nurse Teacher/Coach Cafeteria Manager Students Custodian Bus Driver District Dietitian According to the National Education Association over 1 million students will experience food allergy reactions this year while at school. This really is not surprising given the fact that kids spend the majority of their day at school. And with the ubiquity of food- at school, at afterschool events, on the bus, a food reaction can really occur anywhere/ anytime. But with the right approach, a team approach, most reactions can be avoided. In Brevard County, our team starts with the parent- and includes all those listed. Notice students are on this list. That would be the student with the allergy as well as the student’s classmates. So in order for us to prevent food allergy reactions and help keep our students safe, the team’s approach focuses on communication and education.

Managing food allergies Back to School Registration Registration Table- communication starts with the parent Forms and Information: Medical Statement for meal accommodations Allergen-Free Diet Allergen Information available on district website Interactive Menus- Nutrislice Communication starts with the parent at registration. All 82 schools in our District set up back to school registration tables. This is where the cafeteria manager can provide valuable information to the parent of a child with a food allergy and this is really where the rapport with the parent first begins. The next few slides will show in more detail the above listed bullet points… READ SLIDE

Medical Statement This is the medical statement we provide to the parent in which we ask them to have completed by the physician. We are looking for the medical condition- does the child have an allergy or intolerance, which specific foods are to be avoided and are there suggested food substitutions. This allows us to alter the meal and still claim it as reimbursable.

Allergen-Free Diet Managing food allergies This is Allergen free diet. I first have to give credit to Pasco County. We have taken their concept and adapted for use in our District. This diet, which is devoid of foods containing the top 8 allergens, is used temporarily during the first week or so of school following the provision of medical documentation of a food allergy. This allows the district dietitians time to work with parents, school nurse or physician to create an individualized list of acceptable menu offerings for the child.

Managing food allergies Allergen Information on District Website Also at Registration, parents learn where they can find Allergen information on all our foods. The information contained on this document shows the top 8 allergens. In addition to that, we have added other information. Let me call your attention to the highlighted boxes. The Trix Cereal Bar, for example, shows, under comments, that it contains corn and red, yellow and blue dye and gelatin. We felt this information may also be of interest to parents.

Interactive Menus- Nutrislice Another piece of communication provided is our interactive menus. We use Nutrislice software and here you can see snapshot of the first week of our October menu. Notice the red arrow. This is where the parent can click the box pertaining to their child’s allergy and line automatically crosses thru the entrée or item that the child cannot eat.

Managing food allergies Communication Flow Parent School Nurse Teacher Cafeteria Manager District Dietitian Parent This diagram shows that communication regarding the student allergy starts with the parent but does not necessarily flow in any particular order. Sometimes the district dietitian is contacted directly from the parent, other times from the teacher, school nurse or cafeteria manager. As long as information is received, it doesn’t matter how it is communicated.

Managing food allergies Role of the Dietitian Enter informational ‘Alerts’ to display on POS F/u with Parents as needed to obtain necessary information Obtain and review completed Medical Statement Forms Provide Individualized Diets to Cafeteria Managers Update Allergen and Nutritional information on District Website

Managing food allergies Staff Education Annual training- partner with DOH Nurse Common foods that trigger an allergy Signs/symptoms of severe, life-threatening allergic reaction Staff’s role in helping manage allergies In addition to communication, our other focus on education. We partner with the Department of Health who provides annual training to our food service staff on food allergies. At this training, staff learns about the 8 common foods that cause 90% of all food allergies, they learn to recognize signs and symptoms of mild as well as life threatening reactions and understand their role in managing an incident if it were to happen in their kitchens.

Managing food allergies Signage/ Accommodations Posting signs in lunchroom Peanut Free Table And lastly, here we have an example of one of the posters managers can display. We also have a few schools that have designated peanut free tables in their lunchrooms.

This session provides one (1) CEU Key Area: Communications & Marketing – 4000 Key Topic: Using your #SocialMedia Savvy to take the 2017 #SchoolBreakfast Challenge Jamie Lewis Lewis.Jamie@brevardschools.org