Groveland Elementary Food Guidelines

• Food-related birthday or other “special” treats are not allowed. Students may share items such as pencils, a book for the classroom, or other non-food items to celebrate their birthday. In addition, the PTA will fund a special Birthday Bookshelf in the Groveland Learning Commons. To celebrate a birthday, each student will be allowed to go to the Learning Commons and pick a book to keep off the Birthday Bookshelf.
• Classroom parties must be safe for all students. Emphasis should be on games and non-food activities and prizes.
• Groveland is NOT a nut-free school. However, we have many students that have different food allergies. Parents and staff need to adhere to any food allergy restrictions in their specific classroom. Parents also need to read food labels carefully when choosing snacks for their children. Along with that, we recommend educating children that for safety reasons food is NOT allowed to be shared with classmates. If parents and teachers have questions regarding allergy concerns they need to discuss with the health office.
• A designated NO NUT table will be provided in the lunchroom for the students who have a nut allergy. Parents need to let the health office know if their child must sit there daily. The table will be properly managed and cleaned by trained lunchroom staff.
• Students are encouraged to eat a good breakfast at home and eat a full, healthy lunch so that snacking does not become a main source of nutrition.
• Students and staff will wash hands after lunch to help eliminate potential allergens (note that hand sanitizer is not effective in eliminating allergens).
• Individual teachers may need to set further food guidelines as needed.

Benefits of these guidelines include:

• Improved safety for children and staff with food allergies and other nutritional health concerns.
• The opportunity to develop attitudes that demonstrate caring concern for individuals with food-related health concerns.
• Consistency from classroom to classroom and year to year. Students, parents and staff will know and understand the guidelines.