Friday, August 27, 2010
What I learned in the cafeteria this week
School is back in session.
Life is resuming it's regularly scheduled programming.
This year oldest and middle daughter are at a different school than the one i work at. Only Little G is riding along with me.
This week I learned:
- Allergies. It is very difficult to ascertain who can have what. My opinion: If your child has an allergy to a food and it can kill him, shame on you for not packing his lunch.
- Seafood. It is possible to be so severely allergic to seafood that your mere presence can require the entire school building to become a seafood/shellfish free building. This means we are no longer allowed to cook/offer/serve fish nuggets/fish patties or tuna fish sandwiches. No one is allowed to pack a tuna fish sandwich in the entire building....including the adult staff. How am I supposed to know what you are packing your kid?
- Milk/Milk products/Soy. If you child is listed as SEVERELY allergic to products that include all liquid milk as well as all products with milk or soy in them, please don't send them to school to purchase pizza (cheese is a milk product and the crust contains soy), a cookie (also made with milk and in a factory that produces soy products) fresh veggies with ranch dip (ranch dip is also a milk product) and grapes. THIS WOULD BE A GREAT DAY TO PACK.
- Terror. The feeling experienced by a low wage employee when they think they may have caused a child to have a severe allergic reaction by giving them a Smuckers pbj pocket containing SOY.
- ANGER AND ANNOYANCE. The feelings that same employee has when the mother of said child indicates that it's really not that severe of an allergy. "He can have cheese and soy as long as it's mixed with something else and he is very aware of what he can have and can't have." Um that's not what your doctor said and we don't ask 5 year olds what they are allowed or not allowed to eat.
~KISA~
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About Me
- kisatrtle
- I'm a 41 year old (gasp) freelance writer, school cafeteria manager, wife and mother. I have three children and one anxious and overweight beagle. I use my blog to make others laugh, to share some cool crafts, to document my lunchlady adventures and to lament about the challenges faced by us all on the journey called life. Thanks for visiting. Please leave some crack...um...I meant some comments.
3 random thoughts:
Uggggggggggg some people...I say choke um ;)
Steven Anthony
Man Dish~Metro Style
&
Life in the fish bowl
I am SO with you on this one! Yes, there are life-threatening allergies out there and we all need to be aware. But the parents of the children WITH allergies need to be vigilant AND HONEST, and need to teach their children to be vigilent AND HONEST. My kids don't have allergies, but before any child comes into my house for the first time I quiz them and their parents about food allergies.
I've had parents tell me their kids don't have allergies, then when I call them because their kid's face is swollen and they're wheezing they say, "Oh, I didn't mention it because I thought he was growing out of it." DUH. Then I've had a kid tell me he's allergic to something I'm serving, so I've fixed him an entirely different meal from everyone else, only to find out later he's not allergic at all, just "doesn't like it", and his parents have told him it's OK to say he's allergic so he doesn't have to eat it. WTH? And don't even get me started on lunch and snacks at Cub Scout Camp!
As a mom of a kid with a food allergy, I agree completely!