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With each new school year comes a new classroom environment, routine, and group of people to educate about your child’s food allergies. Between coming up with consistent nut-free snack ideas for school and gluten-free after-school snacks, it can be a lot to keep track of. Fortunately, we’re here to help! We’ve got some great resources to help you and your child start the school year successfully.

Talk To Teachers About Nut And Gluten Free Snacks For School

Before classes start for the year, get in touch with your school for an early discussion of their allergy friendly snack policies and staff training.

  • Inquire about their food allergy emergency plan, make sure they are aware of your child’s allergy, and provide your contact information and necessary medical information and medication in case of any questions.
  • Once the school year starts, work with your child’s teachers on avoiding allergen exposure, identifying ingredients and recognizing allergic reaction symptoms.
  • It may be helpful to provide a supply of allergy-friendly snacks for school parties or other events.
  • Request advance notice of any field trips so you can plan ahead in terms of food and medications.
  • On the home front, make sure your child is always equipped with medication, safe, allergy-friendly after-school snacks, and resources.

To assist teachers and school staff better understand how to manage your child’s food allergies, we have developed a couple of helpful resources with important facts and tips. Our Survival Guide and Food Allergy Infographic are chock-full of information on food allergies and celiac disease, identifying common food allergens and reaction symptoms, and understanding the scope of allergies. Print these out for your child’s teacher to have on hand and share with other parents to help spread awareness and education.

Gluten And Nut Free Lunch Box Ideas And Hacks

Lunchboxes are a great way to keep an element of creativity for allergy-friendly meals. Our nut-free snack bars, mini cookies, protein bites and breakfast ovals are the perfect solution for adding a special treat for lunches or mid-morning snacks. Check out our full list of snacks for some inspiration to help make your child’s gluten and nut free lunchbox delicious and safe from fourteen common allergens.

If you like getting creative, we’ve got many nut and gluten-free lunchbox recipe ideas – both sweet and savory – that are sure to be a hit. Here are some of our favorites:

We hope that these resources and lunch ideas help make your transition to the new school year a seamless one! What are your Back to School essentials? Tag @enjoylifefoods and #eatfreely in your lunchbox photos!