GREAT discussion about Food In the Classroom

I mentioned Gina Mennett Lee last week in my blog post, Food Allergies:  Recognizing the Child.  She shared an article written the Huffington Post about food based birthday parties being denied.  Gina truly brought it home this weekend with her post, Food in the Classroom is Not About Public Opinion.  She is a food allergy educator and consultant who brilliantly captured the right wording in explaining that how to manage a life threatening illness is not up for popular opinion or public debate.  I think her article will become a staple in our food allergy education tool kit.  She is very eloquent, yet remains firm in protecting the child who needs a fair, equal and safe environment at school.

It is disrespectful to the memory of the children that have died of allergic reactions in schools, to ignore their stories and maintain the status quo, because of parent complaints about their child’s right to a cupcake.

Bravo.  Congratulations Gina on a very well written article that I believe will help parents when presenting their needs.  It is a very sad day when a cupcake holds equal value to a human life.  Unfortunately, people have lost sight of humanity and what we are trying to teach our children about life.  They are hung up on our “right” (I’m still looking for the cupcake clause) to birthday parties at school.  This is a battle that must be fought even though it should never have been a battle in the first place.

Again, I suggest reading Gina’s article, Food in the Classroom is Not About Public Opinion  for inspiration and clarity–there is no debate–only fact and accommodations.