Parent requests school peanut ban

A parent asked Bedford County Board of Education Thursday night to remove anything containing peanuts and tree nuts from school menus, including food for student field trips.

"My son has severe food allergies," said the parent, who requested her name not be used to protect her child's identity. "In the school setting, his greatest risk is when the entire school is eating anything with peanuts and tree nuts. Peanuts leave an unseen, unfelt residue that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

"My son can tell you what he cannot eat, but he cannot tell you what other people have touched before him."

The parent said peanut and tree nut products include, but are not limited to, peanut butter, cookies, brownies and anything that contains a label stating it "may contain" peanuts or was "processed on the same machinery as products with peanuts and tree nuts."

The parent asked the school to be proactive, rather than reactive.

"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a cookie is not worth someone dying over," the parent said. "Peanut butter is like a loaded gun because it is lethal to someone who is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts."

The parent also asked the board to send a letter to all parents requesting they do not allow peanuts or tree nut products to be brought into the school.

It was also recommended to the board that a special table be designated in the cafeteria for those who wish to eat peanut and tree nut products, rather than a table designated as peanut-free.

"That way the peanut butter is in one area of the cafeteria and not spread throughout the entire cafeteria," she said. "This will also keep the food allergic child from being singled out for his or her disability by sitting out for everyone to see. He will not be segregated from everyone else because of his food allergies."

The parent suggested alternatives to the food she's asking be eliminated. Instead of peanut butter sandwiches, she asked the schools serve turkey or ham sandwiches. She also said soy butter is a good substitute for peanut butter, and that fruits are a healthy alternative to cookies and brownies.

"I am asking for you to help me keep my child safe the way his doctors have instructed me and the only way I know how," she said.

The board thanked the parent and said they would consider her request.

Later in the meeting, Sheree Floyd reported on the School Age Care Program. Floyd asked the board for permission to comment on the peanut and tree nut presentation.

Floyd told the board the SACP had stopped serving peanut products about eight years ago.

"Through the years I see more and more children who are having problems with this," she said.