How Do You Make Lunches Safe for Kids With Allergies?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4-6 percent of children in the U.S. under 18 have food allergies, and that number is rising.

School can be a particularly dangerous place for these kids. The CDC says that 16-18 percent of them have had an allergic reaction at school due to accidentally ingesting a food allergen.

Odds are that if your child isn’t one of those with a serious allergy, he or she goes to school with someone who is. Because schools are required by federal law to make adjustments for any student with a life-threatening allergy, this may mean nut-free tables in the lunchroom, or even an entirely nut-free school.

If you’re in either of those categories, how do you pack a healthy, allergen-free lunch for your student? Patch has rounded up some ideas, and we’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

The Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom blog has some great sounding recipes that she uses with her kids, including vegan pumpkin dip and homemade beef jerky, that would qualify as dairy- and nut-free, too.

She advises to, “allow your children to have a say in what goes into their lunchbox (from a mom-approved list of healthy options of course).  Not only will your kids be more likely to eat it, but if you do it right, you can get them eating all sorts of healthy goodness.”

There are lots of sites that focus on peanut-free healthy lunches, such as Livestrong, which suggests making sandwiches with sunflower seed butter, or packing yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola or humus wraps.