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For healthier student lunches, schools are banning everything from peanuts to chicken nuggets


All lunchboxes are subject to inspection
All lunchboxes are subject to inspection

Now that it’s back-to-school time again, Web Watch would like to take a look at what SCHOOLS ARE BANNING FROM THE LUNCH ROOM:

Yes, it’s all about ensuring that today’s kids are eating healthy foods in the school cafeteria.

But do we really need to go as far as the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District, and BAN CHICKEN NUGGETS from the menu?  Web Watch knew a girl who only ate chicken fingers and cheese.  Seriously.  What could she possibly eat at school if they took away 1/2 of her dietary choices?

We will say that banning chicken nuggets does make sense on one level — the district has a healthy-eating program in place where students cultivate the district’s own vegetable garden and preschoolers take care of the chicken coop.  We wouldn’t want Little Jimmy to be feeding the chickens in first period class, and then eating those same chickens three hours later.

The “don’t bring in foods to the classroom” ban that some teachers have had to implement is due to ensuring that no student with a known (or unknown) allergy has to suffer needlessly just because a peanut was introduced into the environment.

For parents planning on ignoring the “no baked goods” rule, but still want to adhere to some common sense, here is a LIST OF THE MOST COMMON FOOD ALLERGIES:

  • Peanuts
  • Tree Nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews)
  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Shellfish (e.g., shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels)
  • Soy
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Wheat