Park City school is nut-free

PARK CITY — Pat Flynn never imagined life as an elementary school principal would mean so much time thinking about peanut butter sandwiches.

But these days, when a tiny peanut can cause a child to break into hives or even stop breathing, Flynn has no choice but to fret about what his students eat. In fact, Flynn's Trailside Elementary School in Park City is a nut-free zone, meaning no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are allowed inside. There's even a nut-free table in the cafeteria as an extra precaution to accommodate the eight students who have severe nut allergies.

Some parents of the 500 children who attend the school think Flynn has gone too far, but he doesn't think so.

"It comes down to the safety of the kids," Flynn said. "And I don't care if it's one or eight."

Severe food allergies are a new problem for school districts across the state and the nation. The number of children with food allergies rose 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And a total of 100,000 Utahns, including about 32,000 children in the state, have food allergies, which spur roughly 30,000 emergency room visits and up to 200 deaths per year in the United States, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. And yet, many school districts have no food allergy policy at all. Others are scrambling to implement guidelines.

Alpine School Board approved its food allergy policy in early December. It encourages parents to fill out a form detailing their child's type and extent of allergy. School officials and parents then create a health plan that could be a nut-free cafeteria table, a sign on the classroom door or simply notes sent home to parents regarding classroom snacks.

For now, food allergy policies vary district to district. Granite School District has nut-free cafeteria tables. Davis School District manages the issue on a case by case basis and pays particular attention to washing tables and desks. Jordan School District doesn't serve any food products containing nuts. Later this school year, Park City School District will present a proposal to its school board.

Officials with the Utah Food Allergy Network would like to see more consistency between schools and districts. They are working on a proposal similar to the one Alpine School District implemented to present to the State Board of Education in 2010. And if state education leaders don't want to implement guidelines, network officials say they will take their proposal to state lawmakers.