Food Allergies and Restrictions
At CHDCC it is our goal to keep each child with a food allergy safe and to honor identified food restrictions to the best of our ability. In order to best meet the children’s special dietary needs, it is essential that the center staff and parents work closely together. Staff must understand the nature of these needs and be able to distinguish between food allergies, food sensitivities, food preferences, and dietary restrictions for religious or cultural reasons. If a child has a special dietary need, parents should discuss it with the center’s director and the child’s teachers upon enrollment. Specific guidelines for addressing each special type of dietary need are further described below.

Food Allergies
Food allergies must be documented by a child’s physician with a plan for handling any accidental exposure. When parents notify the director that their child has an allergy they will receive a Food Allergy Plan Form to be completed with the child’s health care provider and turned in to the office. The form will be kept in the resource room in the Food Allergy Notebook. A copy will also be given to the cook and to the child’s classroom teachers to be posted in the classroom in clear view along with the child’s photo. It is recommended that parents schedule a brief conference with their child’s teacher and the director to review the action plan form.

If the child’s physician prescribes Benadryl or an Epi Pen (or any other medications), parents are responsible for providing those medications. They will be kept in the child’s classroom in a zip lock bag with the child’s name clearly labeled, as well as the medication’s expiration date. The bag will be taped to the wall 5 feet above the floor in a visible location. If the child’s allergy status changes, parents must notify the staff and director of these changes and update the child’s Food Allergy Plan Form. The director will forward the form to the classroom teachers and the cook.

In addition to submitting an action plan form, parents are responsible for making decisions about what foods their child can and cannot eat and supplying appropriate food substitutes when necessary (e.g., if a child can’t have the chicken patty, an alternate protein must be provided). To help parents with this process, the center implements a rotating menu. Every Friday the cook will provide parents of children with food allergies with a copy of the upcoming week’s menu (placed in the parent mailbox). The menu will also be posted on the CHDCC website (www.chapelhilldaycarecenter.com). It is the parents’ responsibility to mark the menu with their child’s name, cross out any items that their child cannot eat, and notify the primary classroom teacher and cook of any substitutions (e.g., write them on the menu). Menus should be handed to the child’s teacher on Mondays to be posted in the classroom in clear view. Note that the center does provide soymilk for those children who cannot have cows milk, and uses Earth Balance® as the “margarine.”

A Food Ingredient Notebook listing the ingredients of all multi-ingredient foods on the center menu will be kept in the resource room and made accessible to parents. When the center puts a new item on the menu, the cook will update the notebook and put the ingredients information in the parent mailbox for each child with food allergies. It is strongly recommended that parents with children who have food allergies review the notebook and make a list of all food items that their child cannot have and give it to the director. A copy will be kept in the Special Dietary Needs Notebook, the Ingredient Notebook, and a copy will be given to the child’s classroom teachers.

Please note that while it is the center’s preference to always serve the same brand of food, it does not have control over what brand the vendors carry. If there are ingredient labels for more than one brand of food item in the ingredient notebook (e.g., tortillas), it is because the center receives different brands at different times. Since the center is unable to predict which brand will be available, it is recommended that parents provide a substitute each time that item is on the menu (if the child is allergic to one, but not the other). Also, in the event that a menu item or brand of food changes at the last minute, the center make every effort to provide an alternate “safe” food for your child, and a group e-mail will be sent to notify parents of the change in menu. Lastly, since food manufacturers can change ingredients without notice, parents are encouraged to review the notebook on occasion for changes in the manufacturer’s ingredients.

Food Sensitivities:
Sometimes a child may not have a documented food allergy, but rather a food sensitivity; for example, a child may not tolerate acidic fruits. This is not a food preference, but rather a food that causes the child physical discomfort of some kind. Please fill out a Food Restriction Form and turn it in to the Director or Assistant Director who will forward a copy to the cook and your child’s teachers. A copy will be kept in the food allergy notebook. It is the parents’ responsibility to document the foods that their child cannot have on a weekly menu and provide an appropriate food substitute on days that there is an item that your child cannot have.

Dietary Restrictions for Religious or Cultural Reasons:
The center will honor dietary restrictions provided a Food Restriction Form is completed and turned in to the Director or Assistant Director who will forward a copy to the cook and your child’s teachers. It is the parent’s responsibility to document the foods that your child cannot have on a weekly menu and provide an appropriate food substitute when there is an item that your child cannot have.

Responsibilities When Children Have Food Restrictions

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