Dear WES Parents,
The purpose of this note is to provide you with additional information on the policy here at school regarding nuts, both tree nuts and peanuts. We will be a totally nut-safe school for the coming years. This means that products made from or containing tree nuts or peanuts may not be sent to school. Products produced in a facility that produces nut products are allowed. For example, a granola bar processed in a plant that processes nut products is okay. A granola bar that has peanuts or a peanut butter topping is not okay. I hope the following information is helpful to you in planning for your child’s meals. Please feel free to call me at school 457-2522 or send me an email at kwhite@wcsu.net to discuss this further.
Thank you again for your support with the implementation of this policy.
Sincerely,
Karen White, WES Principal

Why is the Woodstock Elementary School Nut-Safe? What foods can my child bring for lunch and snacks?
Peanut allergies are unique. Most people with food allergies -- even severe allergies -- can manage their allergies by simply not eating foods that have their allergens in them. They read labels, don't eat food if they don't know its origins, and ask questions to stay aware of cross-contamination. People with peanut and tree nut allergies follow all these steps, but there are two limits to this approach.
First, it's possible for people with these two allergies to react to traces of nut dust in the air (from peanut shells, for example). Second, nuts are full of natural oils that leave residues. While these residues can be removed with common household cleaners, it can be difficult or impossible to clean tables in the middle of lunch, for example, or for school cleaning staff to know to clean oils off of tainted walls, computer keyboards, pencils, paintbrushes or doorknobs during the school day.
It is because of these issues, and the reality that peanut and tree nut allergies can be life-threatening, that WES will be peanut-free.
Parents of kids with these allergies learn to read food labels to make sure they're safe, but for parents who are new to packing lunches or snacks for a nut-free classroom, the learning curve can be steep. Additionally, manufacturers in the United States are not required to list the presence of allergenic ingredients on their manufacturing lines.
Here is a rule of thumb for reading labels:
• Under federal law, peanuts and tree nuts have to be clearly identified in a food label if they're used as an ingredient. Look for the word "peanuts" or a particular type of tree nut -- macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, chestnuts, beechnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts (pignoli or pinon), gingko nuts or hickory nuts -- in the list of ingredients, or following the word "Contains."

So what kinds of foods are good to bring to a nut-free classroom? Here are some ideas.
Peanut free lunch ideas:
• Pita wrap sandwich with meat and/or cheese, lettuce and tomato
• Pasta salad with meat or cheese
• Macaroni and cheese
• Crackers with lunch meat, hardboiled egg, or cheese
• Yogurt with carrot and celery sticks and a piece of fruit
• Lunch meat & sandwich bread.
• Bagel sandwich with meat or cheese
• Pizza slice with vegetables or fruit
• Soup or stew in a thermos
Peanut free snack ideas:
• Yogurt, string cheese
• Fruit, pudding, or gelatin cups
• Fresh fruit, raisins or other dried fruit
• Crackers and cheese
• Applesauce. The healthiest and most convenient type is unsweetened applesauce in single-serving cups.
• Celery stuffed with soft cheese or cream cheese
• Vegetables. Baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower are among the vegetables some kids will eat raw. Small containers of plain yogurt, salad dressing, or sour cream may be good dips.
• Air-popped popcorn.
• Homemade trail mix with cereal, pretzels, and raisins
• Graham or animal crackers
• Vegetables with dip
• Mini pita's or mini bagels
More Information:
Dr. Milton Gold was the principal author of a consensus statement on Anaphylaxis in the Schools and Child Care Settings. Go to OMA Web Site. The recommendations issued as a consensus statement are summarized below.
o In the nursery, day care setting and earlier public school grades where there are peanut allergic children, no peanuts, peanut butter or peanut containing foods should be allowed, since it is extremely difficult to avoid accidental ingestion. It should be recognized that this will reduce but not eliminate the risk of accidental exposure.
o In the higher public school grades and high school settings, complete avoidance policies while desirable may be impractical. If there are common eating areas, no peanut foods should be allowed if there are peanut allergic children. Allergy free classrooms may need to be instituted when appropriate. Public education of the dangers of peanut allergy and requests for cooperation restricting peanut use at school are important.
o Education of all teachers, staff, and students regarding food allergies and in particular peanuts and nuts should be incorporated into first aid courses.
o Foods served by the school / nursery / day care for snacks, special programs, etc., should omit peanuts and other nuts, if peanut allergic individuals are present.
"Everybody that has contact with this child (with peanut allergy) and any room this child goes into has to essentially be made peanut-free," says Marc McMorris, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics in the division of allergy-immunology at the University of Michigan Health System. A recent study showed that 50 percent of patients react to the equivalent of one-fiftieth (1/50) of a peanut, a very small amount, says McMorris. The allergy is even more serious because the food does not have to be ingested to have fatal effects.