Tag Archives: peanut allergy

Why Peanuts Belong in Schools

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By Dayle Hayes MS, RD, and Jeanne Reilly, NDTR, SNS

Sponsored National Peanut Board, Peanuts in Schools

There are many reasons peanuts and peanut butter can benefit school nutrition programs. Here are four of the reasons we’re convinced that peanuts do belong in schools.

Kids Love Peanut Butter

Consumer research suggests that the average American will eat as many as 3,000 peanut butter sandwiches in their lifetime. But these days, we know it’s not just the iconic PB&J that kids love. The truth is that the palate of Americans has changed and that’s true for school children too. These days, kids love spicy, global flavors and they come to school looking for meals that reflect the ones they eat at home and at local restaurants. If we want students to eat school meals, they must taste good first.

Peanut Butter is Convenient

Pre-made PB&J sandwiches have been a favorite of students for years. During the pandemic, they became an essential part of emergency meal delivery for schools across the country due to their convenience. Many directors reported that offering pre-made or homemade PB&J sandwiches increase participation. Because it is shelf-stable, peanut butter is also a food that’s perfect for keeping in stock all the time.

Peanut Butter is Affordable

Peanut products provide a cost-effective plant-based protein, meat/meat alternate option with minimal labor investment that children love. Peanut butter is affordable for school nutrition programs to purchase or to divert into processing for pre-made sandwiches. It’s also affordable because it’s versatile and can be used in many other recipes. It can help reduce the cost of a full serving of another meat/meat alternate such as yogurt when mixed to make this Yogurt Dip or served as part of a vegetarian or chicken dish using this Multipurpose Peanut Sauce. Lastly, the value of peanut butter can also be seen in its very low waste – both because it lasts a long time in storage and because students actually consume meals that include peanut butter.

Bans Interfere with Food Equity

While social justice and food equity are currently hot topics, they are not new issues for schools. The school nutrition program was established to help ensure that hungry children were fed. Banning specific foods creates inequalities from school district to school district and even within school districts. It is important to remember that peanuts and other nuts are a valuable source of nutrition for children from various backgrounds, including vegetarians (by choice and by religion). Peanut butter is also often a lifeline for children with diabetes as a snack to help manage blood sugars. Lastly, it is often a nutrient-rich food that children with sensory processing differences (like autism) will eat when they may not eat much else. Restricting access to these foods by children who can safely eat them unnecessarily creates inequalities.

Peanut Butter on The Menu

Wherever you’re serving school meals, peanut butter can help. Breakfast, lunch, snack and supper are all times when peanuts and peanut butter can fit. As we mentioned, peanut butter is a versatile ingredient that can go beyond the PB&J. Get inspired by this collection of school nutrition recipes, including Peanut Butter Overnight oats, African Peanut Soup, Multipurpose Peanut Sauce, just to name a few. If you’re still doing (or need to do again) curbside or delivery meals for students, consider how using individually wrapped or portion cupped peanut butter products can help you serve safe and nutritious meals for students. For remote meals single-serve peanut butter and individually wrapped PB&J are a value-added convenience because they are shelf stable and unitized to prevent cross-contact.

For more about serving peanut products in schools safely, visit PeanutsinSchools.org.

Want to win a peanutty prize pack? Review the content available on PeanutsinSchools.org and take this quiz now through April 29, 2022. Terms and conditions are available here.

School Breakfast Trends, Peanut Allergy Facts and Keeping Students Safe

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According to the Food and Research Action Center’s February 2020 Breakfast Scorecard, “14.6 million children ate breakfast at school on an average day in the 2018–2019 school year.” This is an increase of over 46,000 students per day from the previous year. Much of the growth has been outside of the traditional before-school breakfast in the cafeteria – using a variety of alternative models including breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go breakfast carts/kiosks, and mid-morning breakfast breaks. Changes in location have led to changes in menus with increases in self-stable, packaged, and easier-to-transport items. While there is nothing inherently wrong with packaged foods (which must meet National School Breakfast Program regulations), some districts are struggling with the perception of school breakfast as lots of sugars and other carbs.

School Breakfast Trends: The expectations and perceptions of student customers, especially teenagers, is also changing. Based on the breakfast choices they enjoy in fast food and quick-serve locations, they expect to also see options like protein boxes, grain bowls and fruit smoothies at school. Savvy school nutrition directors are upping their breakfast game to be more restaurant-like with everything from omelet bars and overnight oats to homemade cinnamon rolls and specialty parfaits. Many of these new school breakfast items are specifically created to decrease sugar while enhancing protein content. Looking for ways to make breakfast stick, school chefs are focusing on the right balance of protein, fat and fiber.

PB&J Greek Yogurt Parfait https://healthyschoolrecipes.com/recipes/pbj-greek-yogurt-parfait/

The Peanut Butter Solution: With those criteria, it is not surprising that the “peanut butter solution” comes to mind. Peanut butter is popular with students and is an affordable source of protein with healthy plant-based fiber (6% DV) and good fats. Peanut butter is also very versatile from a culinary standpoint – easy-to-use in baked goods, blended items and spreadable applications. However peanut is one of the top eight food allergens so schools must implement strategies to keep students with allergies safe at school. While some studies estimate that 2% of children are allergic to peanuts, the good news is that as many as 20% of peanut allergies may be outgrown, while new treatments are being developed and tested. The peanut industry wants everyone with allergies to be safe so they support the latest research and resources at Prevent Peanut Allergies.org.

Keeping Students Safe: The goal of school breakfast is to offer as many healthy, appealing food options to as many students as possible, while ensuring that all customers with food allergies are protected. Three important ways to accomplish this goal are:

  • Training: Ensure that all nutrition staff receive regular training on all food allergies. Everyone who works with food or in the cafeteria needs to know how to avoid cross-contamination and how to recognize food allergy reactions.
  • Planning: Careful planning is the key to preventing problems. Each student with a food allergy should have an individualized plan that include school foodservice, nurses, classroom staff and coaches.
  • Labeling: Make certain that all products containing an allergen are clearly labelled with text, photo or colors, as appropriate for the age and reading level of students. Check any new products and recipes for proper labeling. 

Need helping with ideas, webinars, training videos and more? Visit Managing Peanut Allergies and click on the schools section. You can also visit the School Nutrition Association’s Food Allergy Resource Center.

Peanut butter granola bars https://healthyschoolrecipes.com/recipes/peanut-butter-granola-bar/

Peanut Butter Recipes: Delicious peanut butter recipes for school breakfast are available through a variety of sources, including the USDA Recipe Box, state department of education resources and Healthy School Recipes.  

Peanut Butter Vanilla Yogurt Dip: https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/recipes/schools/peanut-butter-vanilla-yogurt-dip.htm

This blog post is sponsored by the National Peanut Board. Learn more about the benefits and practicalities of serving peanut products in K-12 at PeanutsinSchools.org.

Back-to-School with Peanuts

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I’ve consulted with the National Peanut Board and the Peanut Institute several times over the past decade. It is a natural partnership for several reasons: (1) I love peanuts and peanut butter; (2) My two children might not have grown into strong, healthy adults without peanut butter; and (3) Both organizations base all of their materials and recommendations on the most recent science. And now I have a fourth reason: My grandson Milo, now almost sixteen months old is getting to explore the wide world of delicious, nutritious foods – and I want to make certain that he experiences new foods safely and joyfully.

The great news for new parents is that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has updated guidelines for infants at different risk levels for developing of peanut allergies. The 2017 Addendum Guidelines, based on a landmark study, are designed for use by healthcare providers and parents. They suggest that the early introduction of peanut-containing foods (around four to six months of age) can lead to a major reduction in the development of peanut allergies. I’m grateful that my grandson Milo has happily been enjoying peanut butter “puffs” for over eight months.

I’m always disappointed when I learn that a school district has banned peanuts, peanut butter and peanut-containing foods and claims to be “peanut-free.” While I understand any parent’s desire to keep their children safe, I support realistic, effective policies that prevent peanut-allergic reactions and allow the 98 percent of children without these allergies to enjoy all delicious, nutritious, affordable food options. In my professional opinion, students with and without allergies are best served by policies that are comprehensive and evidence-based. Rather than complete bans – which can be unenforceable – I favor an “allergen aware” approach to serving potentially problematic foods.

The really important reason to allow peanuts and peanut butter in schools is their natural versatility in creating nutritious dishes that students love to eat for school breakfast, lunch, snacks and supper. The recipes at PeanutsinSchools.org are excellent examples of items that appeal to kids – and help school nutrition pros plan meals that meet nutrition standards without breaking their budgets. Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana Smoothies, Peanut Butter Vanilla Yogurt Dip and African Peanut Stew (a tasty, creamy option for vegetarian and vegan customers) are perfect for back-to-school menu innovations. These recipes, created by HealthySchoolRecipes.com, come complete with crediting information and nutrition details.

So what can a school district do? Start a science-based discussion about food allergies that includes all interested parties – parents, students, teachers, and administrators as well as school nurses, medical advisors, and, of course, school nutrition staff. A school wellness committee or council can be an effective place to begin the conversation – about existing policies or about possible changes.

Here are five steps that make sense for all students – and are based on the latest evidence:

  1. Use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Schools and Early Care and Education Programs as a template for policies. Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), the National Association of School Nurses and other groups collaborated with the CDC to develop the best guidelines possible. 
  2. Educate. Educate. Educate. Keeping food-allergic students safe at school is a shared responsibility among all adults who provide care, services or oversight. This means that bus drivers, foodservice staff, teachers, aides, paraprofessionals, and after school personnel should all know the signs of an allergic reactions and what to do for an individual child.
  3. Be prepared in the event of a reaction. Even with good policies and careful procedures, reactions can and do happen. For any food allergy, children need an emergency anaphylaxis plan, access to necessary medications, and adults who know how to respond. Friends and classmates can also be taught to recognize the signs of a reaction to allergenic foods.
  4. Consider whether allergen safe tables are a good option for your school. These tables have been shown to reduce epinephrine use in a 2017 study. I often eat at allergen-free tables when visiting school cafeterias – and have been impressed with the level of students’ knowledge and the caring they show for their friends. (Bartnikas L., H. M. 2017, Impact of school peanut-free policies on epinephrine administration. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 467-473)
  5. Let parents and caretakers know that your school nutrition program takes all food allergies seriously. Meet with concerned families as appropriate and share your procedures for reviewing new products, labeling menu items with potential allergens, and supporting safe celebrations. Need more facts about peanut allergies? Find everything you need at Managing Peanut Allergies.