Parents, students and teachers know that school is not just about what happens in the classroom. To that end, schools which offer student food allergy clubs help students feel supported in a community of kids who just get what it's like to live with a potentially life-threatening food allergy.
Student Clubs for Food Allergies
From anecdotal feedback from students who have started and/or participated in a food allergy club, we have learned that membership in those clubs includes students with food allergies as well as friends who serve as their allies. These clubs provide a supportive and empathetic community and give students a chance to have agency and gain real-world leadership skills.
Starting a new club, especially one for students with food allergies, may need some assistance and encouragement from teachers and parents in order to get some membership and momentum. However, once underway, these clubs can help organically educate the next generation of adults to better empathize, accommodate and include those with medically necessary dietary restrictions in life's daily activities involving food.
The Prevalence of Food Allergies is a Growing Food Safety and Public Health Concern
According to FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), about 8% of kids have a food allergy. In addition, about 1% of kids have Celiac Disease and must adhere to a lifelong strict Gluten Free diet. By estimate, an additional 6.0% to 7.0% of school children have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, and should also avoid the consumption of Gluten. In other words, by estimate, about 8.0 of school children cannot consume Gluten.
The bottom line is that an estimated 16% of children, or about 4 students per classroom of 25, have some type of food allergy to Gluten (Wheat, Barley, Rye and Oats) and/or the Top 9 Major Food Allergens: Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Peanuts, Tree Nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts), Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder), Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp), Soy and Sesame.
Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease is Challenging for Students and Parents
According to the CDC, "Many studies have shown that food allergies have a significant effect on the psychosocial well-being of children with food allergies and their families." According to the University of Chicago, "Living healthily with Celiac Disease requires skill in negotiating the everyday environment — especially for children and teens, where most positive social encounters, from school lunches to prom, is organized around food." Unfortunately, these findings are not news to many students with food allergies and to their parents. According to Children's National Hospital’s Celiac Disease Program, Boston Children's Hospital and the Celiac Disease Foundation, Celiac Disease can cause many adverse educational experiences for students and parents including:
Exclusion and Isolation – The Gluten Free diet, which is the only available treatment option for Celiac which is a lifelong chronic disease, can interfere with academic and social activities, which can result in a sense of exclusion and isolation. It is challenging to participate in class lessons involving food or materials containing Gluten, eat meals with peers, partake in celebratory treats, and travel on class trips. This can interfere with academic and social-emotional development in students.
Bullying and Discrimination – Students and their parents have reported bullying and discrimination because of Celiac Disease, and its management with the strict Gluten Free diet. For example, students may attract negative attention from others by eating different foods, asking questions, or having GI symptoms that are noticeable to others. To that end, students without any visible symptoms may be judged by individuals who doubt the validity of their diagnosis and may not take it seriously. In any event, students may experience teasing, taunting, harassment, or bullying by peers, teachers, coaches, and other adults. As a result, many students and their parents find it difficult, if not impossible, to advocate for their needs.
Physical Symptoms Disrupt Learning – Students with Celiac Disease can experience a number of different physical and emotional symptoms that may negatively impact their ability to learn and grow, academically and socially. Symptoms can be anxiety-provoking, embarrassing, painful and distracting. Physical and emotional symptoms negatively impact a student's ability to focus, learn, and perform at their usual level, and may have additional negative consequences due to absences.
While students have different foods to which they are allergic, these challenging educational experiences are unfortunately common across many students with food allergies. That's why school clubs can provide meaningful support.
Addressing the Needs of Students and Parents of Students with Food Allergies
In addition to students with Celiac Disease and traditional food allergies sometimes experiencing feelings of isolation and exclusion, these students sometimes describe hearing insensitive comments about their medically necessary dietary restrictions. To that end, school communities would be well served as part of comprehensive health, wellness, nutrition programs to offer the student clubs and affinity groups for parents.
Parent Affinity Group for Students with Food Allergies
In addition to school clubs for students, it would also be valuable for schools to start a separate parents of students with food allergies affinity group whereby issues could be discussed and fellowship created among those parents of students with similar challenges.
Given that Celiac and traditional food allergies are invisible illnesses, it would be helpful to have the school take the lead on this in terms of communicating it to everyone in the community with the hope that those who are interested will be informed, respond and participate.
Rethinking Go-To Comfort Foods and Treats Served to Groups at School Events
By observation and experience, our children's school often has several go-to comfort food and treats that are served to the community at school events: cookies, donuts, soft pretzels and pizza. Given that these go-to foods are prevalent at many schools for certain events, it would be beneficial if school administrators and teachers would rethink these go-to foods and treats served to groups.
As a first step in doing so, when serving one primary food item at a school event (i.e. pizza), teachers and parents should see if there are any students in the community who have food allergies. In turn, if there are members of the group who have food allergies, schools should accommodate them by replacing those allergen containing go-to food(s) with a safe food option that can be enjoyed by an entire group, grade, division. In the alternative, if soft pretzels or pizza are served for example, then Gluten Free soft pretzels and pizza should also be available for those who need them. The ideal goal is to serve some food item that everyone can equally enjoy together.
School clubs can facilitate positive development by helping children of all ages advocate for themselves, educate the community about their food allergies, facilitate empathy and understanding of their needs, and develop leadership in their communities.
Food for thought!