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Sunbutter and jelly: a new lunchtime treat
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BY: Jennifer Daddario Staff Reporter
Local day schools create tree-nut-free environments
This fall, when students returned to the cafeteria at Gross Schechter Day School, something was different. Gone was the peanut butter and in its place, Sunbutter, a peanut butter substitute made of sunflowers.
Schechter became a tree-nut- and peanut-free school in order to protect students who have allergies to peanuts and tree nuts.
It is not the only local day school making a change to keep young students with allergies healthy. Hebrew Academy of Cleveland adopted a peanut-free policy, effective this fall.
The lower school at Fuchs Mizrachi School is not nut-free, but the early childhood program, which has its own building, is nut-free. Agnon School is not completely nut-free, but does have some classrooms that are designated tree-nut-free zones.
“We’ve had several serious instances over the last ten years in which students with tree-nut allergies have needed treatment from epi pens (injections of epinephrine) in order to avoid anaphylactic shock,” noted Schechter Headmaster Rabbi Jim Rogozen in a press release. To avoid allergic-reaction emergencies, Schechter has also removed any foods containing tree nuts from its campus. It also urges parents to be careful about the snacks they put in their children’s backpacks.
“Nut allergies are unlike other allergies,” explains Fuchs Mizrachi early childhood director Lesley Schwersenski. “Some children can respond even to the smell.” The severity of the allergy for some children, along with the young age of students at Fuchs Mizrachi’s early childhood program, prompted the decision to go nut-free two years ago, Schwersenski explains. “We want to protect the well-being of these children,” she says. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”
At Fuchs Mizrachi lower school, Rabbi Shmuel Jablon admits there hasn’t been “too much of a problem” with allergic reactions to nuts. “At that point, the kids are a little bit older and do know what they can and cannot eat.” The lower school’s policy does not allow children to share food, he says. As for nut allergies, adds Jablon, “what we really do depends on the severity of the allergies.”
At Agnon, the entire school building is not nut-free, but certain buildings are, explains Head of School Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, and the kitchen is “nut-conscious.” The kitchen tries to avoid nut products when possible and asks parents bringing in products to look at the ingredients before they enter the school.
Classrooms with children who have nut allergies are designated as tree-nut-free zones, and parents and students are “asked to abide by a stricter interpretation,” Isaak-Shapiro adds.
Dr. Nora Singer, a Schechter parent whose son Seth Malamed, 5, is allergic to peanuts, began brainstorming ideas last year to convince the administration to go nut-free at the main school, which her son entered this fall. A pediatrician in the division of rheumatic diseases at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Singer had previously been on an airplane where they served Sunbutter. “It was delicious,” she reports.
Singer purchased Sunbutter and other peanut butter alternatives at Wild Oats Market and Trader Joe’s, and she brought them to a meeting with Rogozen. A few days later, Rogozen called Singer to tell her they were going to go tree-nut-free and have a taste test of the peanut-free products available. “It was one of the easiest conversations I’ve ever had,” Singer laughs. Another easy “sell” is that Sunbutter is no more expensive than regular peanut butter and has nearly identical nutrition, such as calorie count.
Hebrew Academy also made the choice to switch to use Sunbutter as a peanut butter replacement in its cafeteria because of the increasing number of children in the school with allergies, Educational Director Rabbi Simcha Dessler wrote in a letter to parents.
Singer admits she didn’t have “unrealistic expectations” for her son’s school to go nut-free. “I don’t think it’s possible for an organization or restaurant to 100% assure that everything is nut-free,” she says. “But you can do your best to reduce risk.”
All the schools the CJN spoke to have epi pens near the cafeteria and in many of the classrooms in case of emergencies. In addition, they all urge parents to be cautious about sending their children to school with products that have traces of peanut in their preparation.
Schecther students always have Sunbutter and jelly available as a lunch alternative. “I’m not certain that all the children realize they are not actually having the same peanut butter they had last year, and that’s okay,” says Singer.
When it comes to birthday snacks and parties in the classroom, there is less of a reason for worry, Singer admits. For the most part, she explains, parents are not allowed to bake at home and bring the treats in, because the school keeps kosher. In addition, because Schechter is a “USDA Team Nutrition Gold Medal School,” parents are encouraged to bring in healthy snacks for birthdays and celebrations.
jdaddario@cjn.org
This fall, when students returned to the cafeteria at Gross Schechter Day School, something was different. Gone was the peanut butter and in its place, Sunbutter, a peanut butter substitute made of sunflowers.
Schechter became a tree-nut- and peanut-free school in order to protect students who have allergies to peanuts and tree nuts.
It is not the only local day school making a change to keep young students with allergies healthy. Hebrew Academy of Cleveland adopted a peanut-free policy, effective this fall.
The lower school at Fuchs Mizrachi School is not nut-free, but the early childhood program, which has its own building, is nut-free. Agnon School is not completely nut-free, but does have some classrooms that are designated tree-nut-free zones.
“We’ve had several serious instances over the last ten years in which students with tree-nut allergies have needed treatment from epi pens (injections of epinephrine) in order to avoid anaphylactic shock,” noted Schechter Headmaster Rabbi Jim Rogozen in a press release. To avoid allergic-reaction emergencies, Schechter has also removed any foods containing tree nuts from its campus. It also urges parents to be careful about the snacks they put in their children’s backpacks.
“Nut allergies are unlike other allergies,” explains Fuchs Mizrachi early childhood director Lesley Schwersenski. “Some children can respond even to the smell.” The severity of the allergy for some children, along with the young age of students at Fuchs Mizrachi’s early childhood program, prompted the decision to go nut-free two years ago, Schwersenski explains. “We want to protect the well-being of these children,” she says. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”
At Fuchs Mizrachi lower school, Rabbi Shmuel Jablon admits there hasn’t been “too much of a problem” with allergic reactions to nuts. “At that point, the kids are a little bit older and do know what they can and cannot eat.” The lower school’s policy does not allow children to share food, he says. As for nut allergies, adds Jablon, “what we really do depends on the severity of the allergies.”
At Agnon, the entire school building is not nut-free, but certain buildings are, explains Head of School Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, and the kitchen is “nut-conscious.” The kitchen tries to avoid nut products when possible and asks parents bringing in products to look at the ingredients before they enter the school.
Classrooms with children who have nut allergies are designated as tree-nut-free zones, and parents and students are “asked to abide by a stricter interpretation,” Isaak-Shapiro adds.
Dr. Nora Singer, a Schechter parent whose son Seth Malamed, 5, is allergic to peanuts, began brainstorming ideas last year to convince the administration to go nut-free at the main school, which her son entered this fall. A pediatrician in the division of rheumatic diseases at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Singer had previously been on an airplane where they served Sunbutter. “It was delicious,” she reports.
Singer purchased Sunbutter and other peanut butter alternatives at Wild Oats Market and Trader Joe’s, and she brought them to a meeting with Rogozen. A few days later, Rogozen called Singer to tell her they were going to go tree-nut-free and have a taste test of the peanut-free products available. “It was one of the easiest conversations I’ve ever had,” Singer laughs. Another easy “sell” is that Sunbutter is no more expensive than regular peanut butter and has nearly identical nutrition, such as calorie count.
Hebrew Academy also made the choice to switch to use Sunbutter as a peanut butter replacement in its cafeteria because of the increasing number of children in the school with allergies, Educational Director Rabbi Simcha Dessler wrote in a letter to parents.
Singer admits she didn’t have “unrealistic expectations” for her son’s school to go nut-free. “I don’t think it’s possible for an organization or restaurant to 100% assure that everything is nut-free,” she says. “But you can do your best to reduce risk.”
All the schools the CJN spoke to have epi pens near the cafeteria and in many of the classrooms in case of emergencies. In addition, they all urge parents to be cautious about sending their children to school with products that have traces of peanut in their preparation.
Schecther students always have Sunbutter and jelly available as a lunch alternative. “I’m not certain that all the children realize they are not actually having the same peanut butter they had last year, and that’s okay,” says Singer.
When it comes to birthday snacks and parties in the classroom, there is less of a reason for worry, Singer admits. For the most part, she explains, parents are not allowed to bake at home and bring the treats in, because the school keeps kosher. In addition, because Schechter is a “USDA Team Nutrition Gold Medal School,” parents are encouraged to bring in healthy snacks for birthdays and celebrations.
jdaddario@cjn.org
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