School after care stopped serving snacks

[Anonymous]

I noticed there are a lot of changes this school year in terms of how to deal with kids who have food allergy.

First, the school tells us, they won't give my kid (who has peanut allergy) any birthday treats other parents bring to the classroom. So bring your own treats, they say.
Okay, it's hard, but understandable. Other parents might not be as careful and sensitive to food allergies and the school doesn't want to deal with it.

Now, school after care says they won't serve my kid snacks...at all. Not even fruits.
That makes it hard for him, who gets sad about not getting ice cream his friends are eating. And for us, too, with a kid who is constantly growing and needs a healthy balanced diet. I packed snacks for him for this week, and most of the things I could pack were shelf-life carb based items like crackers, pretzels, rice crispies, and I managed to pack fruit rollups, too, but what else can I pack? I ended up asking them if I can pack snacks daily. At least that way, maybe we can give him fruits, and that will be more filling. Whatever I pack, it can't beat ice cream, though. Can't even do yogurt, because it won't be refridgerated.

Today, I asked him if he got anything to drink with the snack he brought. He said no. He told me they wouldn't give him any drinks either. Not even water. Why?
We pay them to care for him. We turned in all the medical forms, and they've known him for quite a while now.
And all of a sudden, because of this new policy, they wouldn't even give him milk or juice...
Because they had an incident last year, and they are unable to check labels and accomodate kids with special needs, their solution is to stop feeding him. And I mean, stop feeding him at all.

I am not saying it's not hard to accomodate these kids, but do we need to go this far?
We already talked to the director, and all he would say is "We just want to be safe. (Wouldn't you?)" I wouldn't mind if this was an occasional thing like the birthday treats, but this is everyday...

Any other parents out there who are facing similar situations?

[Anonymous]

I am not in your shoes, but have some thoughts as my kids are in after-care as well.

Does your aftercare program post their snacks ahead of time? For example, I can ask and get a list of what the snacks/drinks will be for the following week. You can then review the sheet and let them know which days your child can have a snack and which he cannot.

If on the off chance your child gets exposed to a food he isn't supposed to the staff at the afterschool program should be trained to deal with a food allergy if it happens. They are in the business of taking care of children. You should set up a meeting your the program director to discuss options and what your child can and cannot have.

[Anonymous]

What was the incident that happened last year?

[Anonymous]

Also, I think you can send him yogurt and such. Just put it in a well insulated bag with a good ice pack. With a little care I bet you can even send small packs of ice cream.

[Anonymous]

Not sure, but you can definitely send fruit. Bananas, oranges, apples. String cheese, applesauce etc.