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Food Allergies: Are Schools Doing Enough?

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You are going to the cafeteria to buy lunch. You are starving and pick up a tray to get food. The first thing you see are chicken nuggets, then you remember you can’t eat chicken nuggets because you are allergic to gluten. So you get some mashed potatoes and fruit instead. You want to get dessert but the brownies have peanuts in them and you’re allergic to peanuts too. When you want a drink, the only drink available is milk, but you are lactose intolerant. You go to pay, with only a little bit of mashed potatoes and fruit on your tray. Schools do not have enough lunch options for kids with allergies. 1 in 13 kids is affected from a food allergy and 40% of these kids have life threatening reactions. This is why I believe schools should make …show more content…

According to ‘Food Allergies: Are Schools Doing Enough?” by Lisa Kadane, children can die within 2-3 minutes when they are exposed to food they’re allergic to. This makes it very unsafe for them in the cafeteria because many lunches have hidden ingredients, and because of cross contact between foods (Kadane). Schools should take action by removing common allergens from lunch, stating the ingredients in the lunches they serve, and by practicing good cleaning procedures. Many schools are failing to keep our children safe because they do not have epi pens for allergic reactions. We must change this, schools don’t have lunches for kids with allergies or medication to give to them during reactions to help save their lives. Food allergies have tripled within the last 15 years and there is no cure, so we should be doing everything we can to help keep students safe. Kids with food allergies feel left out at school. They have to prepare their own food during class parties. According to “The New Rules for Food Allergies” by Kelley King Heyworth, 71% of kids with allergies have to buy their own snack during parties. Some kids have also been isolated during lunch time and had to sit far away from everyone else because of their allergy. We should be helping these kids while making sure they are still

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