Earlier this week, a Carter Lake student with peanut allergies was rushed to a hospital after eating a peanut granola bar at school. Schools around the state have been considering going peanut free. Mid-Prairie Middle School and Elementary Nurse Jenna Grout explained the system they use to keep peanut products away from kids with allergies. She says the parents fill out a form when the child enrolls in school, and they pass along that information to teachers and staff members, but most importantly the cooks in the lunchroom. She says it is easy for kids to recognize that they can’t have a peanut butter sandwich, but its more difficult with some other snack foods.

She says they have the parents of kids with allergies bring in their own snacks for birthdays and other times when snacks are present in the classroom and now they are trying to have more prepackaged snacks brought in so they know what ingredients are in the snack. Grout says they have a procedure to follow if a child is hit by an allergy, but it can vary from child to child.

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