Years ago, many school lunches were composed of a simple peanut butter sandwich. Two slices of bread slathered with peanut butter made for a meal that was often rounded out with an apple and two cookies.
Most of today’s children haven’t experienced that kind of lunch due to the increased number of peanut allergies facing our young ones today. While we strive to keep our schools peanut-free, making snacks and lunches can be a challenge for many who aren’t sure what is and isn’t acceptable in the classroom.
More and more companies are getting on board with the concerns of the parents and are going to great lengths to label their foods as “peanut/nut-free”. The following companies/manufacturers are “allergy aware” meaning they provide responsible labeling when it comes to their products. This does not mean that each item made is safe, but it’s almost certain there will be some sort of identification on the product:
- Nestle
- Hershey’s
- Kraft
- Quaker
- Kisko
- Trebor-Allan
- Christie
- Dare
- Hostess Frito-Lay
- Weston Bakeries
- Peek Freans
- Humpty Dumpty
- Dempster’s
- Kellogg’s
- Chapmans
- Concord Confections
- General Mills
In the case of peanut-free snacks, unpackaged food is almost always best. Here is a list of items that are sure to be acceptable in your child’s classroom:
- Sliced and whole fruits
- Dried fruits
- Pretzels
- Veggie sticks
- Rice crackers
- Raisins
- Cheese strings
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Homemade muffins, cakes, cookies (be sure to include an ingredient list if sending these items into a class party)
For more information on peanut free safe snacking, please visit any of the following websites:
Anaphylaxis Canada
Health Canada – Allergies and School Lunches
The Peanut Bureau
The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network