If you have a child in school, you have probably been asked to only bring in peanut free or safe snacks. Those of us who don’t have kids with allergies might be wondering what exactly is a “safe snack” and how to tell when one is or isn’t. A safe snack is one that is free from the most common allergens in children: peanuts, tree nuts and eggs. According to F.A.R.E (Food Allergy Research & Education) Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies in children and can cause a severe, potentially fatal, allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). Allergy to peanuts appears to be on the rise in children, especially those in school and is a problem that must be addressed.
In order to keep school safe for all students, many schools have adopted peanut-free practices for both in class snacks and lunch room areas. Because there are so many foods that can contain peanuts or trace amounts of peanut products (pastries, cookies, chili, egg rolls, Asian and Mexican dishes, salad dressing, etc.) it is extremely important to know what your children are bringing and consuming while in school.
How Can You Find Peanut Free Snacks for School?
As a parents, we know how hard it is figure out what to send to school for lunch and snack without having to worry about the allergies of other students (especially those with picky eaters!) The good news is, there are great resources online to help keep your child and others “snacking safely.” One of our favorite guides comes from www.snacksafely.com. This comprehensive guide provides an up-to-date list of peanut free snacks and covers everything from pretzels, crackers and cookies to peanut butter alternatives, nutrition/cereal bars, flours/mixes and more. Once you know what is peanut/allergen free, keep snack time fun by creating custom-made snack mixes like these pinners did:
Follow Teresa’s Family Cleaning’s board Nut Free Snacks and Lunches on Pinterest.
A word of caution. It is advised that you ALWAYS read the labels to check for allergens each time you purchase prepared or pre-packaged food. What is peanut/allergen free one time might change the next. When in doubt, skip the snack. It is just not worth the taking a chance.
Wishing you and your children a happy, healthy school year!
Peanut allergies are so scary. I’d rather stick to fruit just to be on the safe side.
Even some fruit can be an allergen. Make sure you check out the safe snack guide before bringing fruit to a class party.
I am so thankful that our children’s school has no allergies because they all love PB snacks. If there was, it would be hard but doable to adjust.
You are very lucky! Just be prepared in case that changes next year.
I love that things are going peanut free. We have a child with a peanut allergy so I can fully understand the importance.
Thankfully my kids do not have peanut allergies. But this is great for kids that do.
They are so careful at my kids school. It is scary what can happen if schools aren’t paying attention.
This is really becoming a huge issue for kids and schools! Fortunately, I homeschool so it’s not as challenging. We do have to read the labels all the time, though, because my hubs has an allergy to gluten.
Our school has just now started asking for peanut free snacks. It’s not mandatory but a strong suggestion. I see both sides of the coin on this one
Our school started out like that too and it became mandatory over time.
The schools in my area have peanut restrictions. My niece has a severe allergy to sesame so I can certainly understand why there need to be restrictions.
I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about having to find peanut free this and that’s while spending some time in the grocery. I always point out to those people that it’s not their own kid’s they are protecting, it’s someone else’s. I then ask them how they’d feel if the snack they gave their child was the one that killed another kid… Usually hits home.
Exactly. No one would want to be responsible for causing another child to become sick.
Ever since my children were small, I never sent peanuts to school. Not even peanut butter. We had two girls who were severely allergic in the school and I would never want to put somebody’s child at risk.
Thanks for the great resource. Peanut allergies are a truly frightening thing.
This is such an important post. I’ve heard of kids having reactions just by eating something that had a minute amount of peanut oil on it.
Great post. Peanut allergies are really scary! It’s amazing to me how one little legume could be so deadly to some people.
My son’s school has a no peanut policy so it makes it easier for us, but this is a good resource.
My school actually has a no peanut policy so this is really helpful even to those of us without the allergy. Now I know where I can get snacks for the whole class. Thanks
This is great that schools are doing this.
Thank you for this! My kids need peanut free snacks in their classroom and it is sometimes a struggle to find things they will like.
I haven’t gotten any notices re peanut free snacks for my daughter’s preschool. However, I’m sure once she starts grade school it’ll be more relevant.
With so many schools going peanut free, I’m needing more ideas! Thanks for sharing! It can seem hard at first, when you’re not used to having to avoid peanuts, but it’s for a good cause.
Our kids can bring snacks with peanuts to school. They are encouraged not to, but they are allowed to. I am wondering if our school will go peanut free at some point though?
Here in NY many schools are going peanut free so I assume it is only a matter of time.