Food Allergy Warriors Go Back To School
This month my youngest son, who happens to be the most severe in his food allergies, started Kindergarten. I attended the first lunch with him on Monday and it was really quite a sight. I’m ok with most situations that we are in when it comes to food, but to see that almost half the lunches, either from the cafeteria or home, were peanut butter sandwiches. I was like, WOW! I immediately asked the lunch attendant if there was a peanut-free table, which she said she didn’t know. Right after this conversation, about 4 other students at that Kindergarten table said they had a peanut allergy.
Well to say that I was floored was an understatement. Being that I know the principal pretty well, I walked over and said, “Hey Rick, we’ve got some peanut allergies over here.” Immediately, he cordoned off a table with a No Peanut sign and was very attentive to the matter. The nurse double checked that indeed there were six friends in my son’s new class with peanut allergy.
This was an interesting lunch indeed. I was pleased by the response by the school and also shocked by the fact that one class alone… one random Kindergarten class with all new friends, has 6 students out of 20 with peanut allergies! The times they are a changing…Please post your back-to-school experiences. Sharing stories can increase knowledge and awareness!