Guideline for Bagged Lunches and Food Brought from Home

Parents of school aged children, including those attending kindergarten, will be expected to provide a bagged lunch for PA days, school holidays and summer camp. Lunches should include a nut free nutritious, well balanced meal that meets the requirement set out in Canada’s Food Guide. Parents should pack all lunch bags with an ice pack as they are not stored in the refrigerator. The following lays out the responsibility of parents and staff when food is brought from home including bag lunches:

Parent and Guardian’s Responsibilities

• The bagged lunch adheres to Canada’s Food Guide.
• Lunch is provided in a labelled lunch bag with an ice pack.
• Foods that may have come in contact with nuts are not allowed in the child’s lunch.

Staff Responsibilities                                                                                            

• All surfaces will be cleaned with a cleaning solution (approved by Public Health) prior and after the children have their lunch/snacks.
• Staff will ensure the children wash their hands before assisting children with their lunches/snacks.
• Staff will ensure children wash their hands prior to eating lunch/snacks.
• Staff will monitor lunches/snacks to ensure no food arrives at the centre that contains nuts or has the warning sign “may have come into contact with nuts”.
• An alternate lunch will be provided if a child forgets their lunch. A courtesy call to the parent or guardian will be made and the food served will be recorded in the log book.
• Staff will encourage children not to share lunches.
• Staff will supervise closely any child that has a life-threatening allergy by sitting next to them or across from them during meal time.

PROTOCOL WHEN SERVING ANAPHYLATIC CHILDREN

• Under all circumstances, the reading of the labels for anaphylactic children will be read at least 3 times per snack/meal.
• Snacks/Lunches that are provided by Kids Come First will have their labels reviewed when the item comes into the centre. Items provided by parents will be reviewed for any allergens
• Items that are allergen free (e.g. Gluten free/dairy free/egg free etc) will be placed in a separate bin and clearly labelled when received in the program.
• Items will be separated as required in their own labelled bins (eg. Gluten free vs Gluten and egg free etc)
• These bins will be placed in a separate cupboard away from all other snacks and the bins will be clearly labelled.
• When snack/lunch is being served/set up on cart, the kitchen staff will review the label to confirm that alternate snack is appropriate/safe for the child/children in the classroom. This snack will be placed in a Ziploc bag in the original container so the ingredients can be verified.
• The alternate snack must be recorded on the menu in the kitchen
• When staff from the rooms come to collect the snack/lunch cart, that staff will verify the ingredients for the substitute snack to confirm if the child/children can have the snack based on their allergies.
• Whenever possible, snack will be served in the classroom.
• All staff will wash their hands and ensure children wash their hands before any snacks/meals
• Once the snack cart is in the room, the person serving the snack with do the final check of the label to ensure that the snack is appropriate/safe for the child with allergies
• The anaphylactic child will be served first to avoid any cross contaminating.
• The child will be encouraged to sit as far way from children eating the allergen. If the child wants to sit closer to the other children, a teacher will sit with them to ensure that there is no sharing of food. (Where possible, Kids Come First will remove the allergen such as sesame.)
• Once the item has been served, the box will be placed in the Ziploc bag before going back to the kitchen to be put away.
• Once snack is completed, the allergen free snack will be placed in the Ziploc bag until it is put away in the appropriately labelled bin in the cabinet.

REVIEW

This policy will be reviewed annually to ensure up to date procedures are being followed. The Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan will be reviewed with new students/volunteers each semester. New staff/students/volunteers will be trained and the binder will be reviewed with them prior to the staff/volunteer commencing work/placement.

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Updated September 2025