The Problem:
Per Shannon Frank’s mom who is a preschool teacher in San Diego, California:
Thanks to your team for taking on our problem! It seems that allergies are becoming more frequent and more serious with each passing year. Our most common and most serious allergies are to eggs and peanuts. This year, we also have several children in different classrooms with allergies to soy, oats, and all tree nuts. We have managed the problem, but I’m sure there must be a more efficient way to do it.
This year, I had the mother of my little boy (severe egg, nuts, soy, and oats) go to the kitchen and make a detailed list of all products that he could and could not eat (fish crackers, nutrigrain bars, etc.). I keep this list at my desk. I asked his mother to send a snack in every day just in case he cannot have what we are having. Unfortunately our snacks change, and frequently what we are having is not on the list. The snack cart is out on the playground, and I cannot leave my children to go to the kitchen and read the teeny, tiny print to see if it is OK for him to eat. I grab his special snack, but he would much rather eat what the other kids are having. Also, sometimes the actual ingredients on the box are OK, but in even tinier print is a warning that the product was produced in a factory that also handles peanuts.
I look forward to your ideas on handling allergies, and making our school safer and more efficient!
Method #1: Color-Coded Labels
Our first method of solving this problem would be to use colored stickers to identify the products that contain allergens. We envision the process to go as follows:
When snacks are purchased and brought to the kitchen, a sticker would be affixed to the box if an allergen is in the snack.
There would be a master list of snacks classified by allergen. Each allergen would correspond to a different color. This list would be checked when the snacks are purchased. A key to the color-coding would also be placed on the snack cart.
When the snack preparer prepares a snack in the morning she would the snacks in individual baggies and place a sticker on them based on the sticker on the bulk package. Snacks that do not have any of the potential allergens would be labeled with stickers as well.
Method #2: Repackaging Snack Products
Similar to the above method. Snacks would be repackaged when they are purchased. Instead of using color-coded stickers to distinguish allergens, this method would use different shaped containers. Products with allergens would then be stored together in the pantry.
Method #3: Product Allergen List
The third method would be a master list. This list would contain all of the snacks served at the preschool. The snack products would be listed alphabetically, and each product would indicate the allergens that it contains (if any). This list would be placed on the snack cart and would be updated and reprinted whenever a new snack product was purchased. The teachers would check this list before distributing snacks to their students.
Constraints:
Three of the major constraints to consider during review are:
1. We need a fool proof system; we do not want children to get sick from the snacks.
2. There are budget constraints; the solution cannot add additional costs to the budget.
3. Whoever takes ownership needs to be able to understand and implement the system.
Stakeholders
1. Teachers
2. Assistants
3. Parents
4. Administration
5. Preschool children
6. School accreditation organization
Thanks for doing this project, which sounds great and helpful. There is a Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network that has information and resources available specifically for schools and daycares: http://www.foodallergy.org/school.html#. You might want to use or recommend some of the existing resources to avoid costs. (Everything is aimed at a reasonable literacy level, too.) Here is a related site with free materials related to food allergy programs: http://www.foodallergy.org/school/sfap.html; maybe you could nominate the teacher to receive the bundle of materials.
ReplyDeleteI think of your three suggestions, the first is probably the easiest to implement and most fool-proof, although the color system has limitations depending on how many different kinds of allergies they are required to accommodate (after the primary colors are used, you run the risk of easily confusing colors). In addition to the key to color-coding, a list of children's names with appropriate color coding could be affixed to the cart.
ReplyDeleteThe second and third suggestions are good, but seem more error prone and work-intensive (once you used specific shaped containers, you also have to clean these containers).
Another option that would cut costs and decrease likelihood of error would be to require parents to send children with their own snacks every day, labeled by name. They could also be required to leave a small stash of non-perishable snacks at the school, so that the child would have a snack available even if the parent were to forget from time to time.
The potential problem with all of these suggestions is if children were to switch snacks. Even if forbidden, depending on the size of the class, this can be hard to monitor and may have terrifying consequences. If there were one of two snacks that no children are allergic to (is anyone allergic to apples, for instance?) the school could elect to only off those snacks. Boring, but safe.
If the variety of allergens they have to manage is small, I think the color-coded method would work well. It would provide an easy way to distiguish which snacks are appropriate for which groups.
ReplyDeleteI think the easiest and most fool-proof method might be for the pre-schoolers to bring their own snacks every day. On a small scale, it might not be too difficult to accomodate pre-schoolers with particular dietary needs. However, when the school now serves the special needs of several students in multiple classrooms, the school might be taking on a heavy burden and responsibility that might be better left to the parents.
Assuming the teachers and staff who are dispensing of the snacks are not color-blind, I think that color coding the snacks would be a very easy, fool-proof way to solve the problem. Additionally, you could using either mailing or name tag labels to put on the snack boxes stating what allergens are in them with a large font.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of repackaging, I think it will make it more burdensome for the teachers and staff to do, thereby limiting adoption.
Finally, while it would be good to put the burden on the parent, you don't entirely solve the problem. For example, a parent may forget to give their child a snack or may pack something that could be harmful for another student to even come in contact with.
I also like the color coding idea. I think it seems like it would be an easy system to use, and would be less cumbersome than the repackaging idea. While I think the advantage of the master list is that it can be constantly updated and may be less work on a day-to-day basis, I think the color coding could possibly even be understood by the children, too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sally’s point about also looking for snacks that children are not likely to be allergic to (fruits, vegetables, etc). It seems like this might be a good option because you could alleviate some stress from the day.
I encourage you to check out the website recommended by Laura. I also encourage you to do some other Internet research about food allergies and to call or visit some of the local preschools in the Nashville area. The problem your client is facing is a very common one that many schools deal with on a daily basis. Are any other schools dealing with this problem in a way that is similar to what your group has suggested? If so, can you find out what sort of barriers to implementation the schools faced when trying to implement the new procedures? If not, why not?
ReplyDeleteI would also encourage you to spend some time pilot testing your innovations before asking your client to implement one of them. For example, for Method #1, see if you can find a preschool that would let you come down to the kitchen on a day when all the snacks are purchased. Go ahead and create the master list of snacks by allergen and the key to the color-coding for the snack cart, and then take the time to go through the process of color-coding both the boxes of snacks and the individual packages. Make sure that you keep track of how much money you spend on materials and how much time it takes you to complete each part of the procedure. If your innovation turns out to be something that is either very difficult or extremely time-consuming for your group to do for just one day, it is probably not a feasible solution for your client. If it turns out to be something that works pretty well just as you have described it, there are still likely to be some minor adjustments that could be made to process that might make the difference between the success and failure of your innovation once your client tries to implement it in her school.
Method #1 would be really efficient and easier for children to follow. Method #2 would result in stocking a lot of products and extra staff. You might need a license to do this activity.
ReplyDeleteMethod 3: This can be clubbed with method 1 to spread awareness amongst teachers and students.
I like method #1, i think it is easy to execute and cost effective. Also, the stickers will be easy to identify. I think method #2 is more complex, more costly and may be difficult to manage the storage aspect. Method #3 sounds like it could get complicated and tough the keep up with the master list.
ReplyDeleteI think that ideas #1 and #3 could be implemented together successfully. For example, a master list would be created and then when each snack came it, it could be quickly color coded based on the master list without having to look at the details of each product each time.
ReplyDeleteIdea #2 seems pretty labor intensive to be feasible.
Great solutions! Pieces of each of these could be pulled to create a fool-proof system for the school. I especially like your ideas for color-coding, storing snacks with common allergens together, and keeping a master list. For each color (allergen) on the master list, you could list the children who are allergic. You could also have the children's names posted in the pantry under their allergen/color section.
ReplyDeleteYour idea for a master list would also be a great thing that they could bring with them on field trips and for substitute teachers to have.
I love that ideas #1 and #3 are cost-effective, easy to implement, and require little "maintenance". It sounds like they spend a lot more time trying to re-figure things out each day that it would take to attach stickers and classify the foods.
I like #1, and also #3.
ReplyDeleteIf the school paired down the variety of "snacks" to 20 or so choices, parents could review all the FDA ingredients on a survey form completed during registration.
If a snack routine were consistently repeated(i.e. oreos and apple slice on Monday, fig newton on Tuesday, ect...), kids, parents, and staff would all know which days they required "special" snack accomodations. Having a routine would reduce mistakes.
Option 3 sounds like a very simple solution or at least a simple step because the list would be on the snack cart. The other ideas are strong but it seems like they would be a lot of extra work which I am sure would be challenging because preschools are always busy.
ReplyDeleteI like method #1. Color coding tends to make processes simple and efficient. I am guessing this would involve additional time for stakeholders on the front-end...but would eventually run smoothly. Method #2 is similar to method #1 but would likely take more time/preparation.
ReplyDeleteI like #3 - put the onus on the parents. It's unfortunate, but with so many allergic reactions and very protective parents it is better to let the professionals (ie parents) monitor what is in their kids' bags. Then just don't let the kids eat too close together or seat kids according to their allergies.
ReplyDeleteRepackaging the snacks seems like it would make snack eating too much of a process. Could we really consider this innovation.
ReplyDelete#1 For the new person this may be difficult to learn and having 20 different colors associated to the different items children are allergic to would be very difficult. Though, the check of seeing if any allergies exist would be very simple checking if red was on the allergen list and the product list, having several colors similar to red (red-orange, crimson, etc.) would be hard to distinguish. Perhaps, striping (red, white, red) or even symbols (squares, circles , triangles) may help. My brother has a deathly allergy to peanuts and this was a very big problem growing up. They tried a color coded thing at our elem school and it didn't work too well. I think having small colored pictures and having a chart with dots of each product might help better. Great idea but not practical.
ReplyDelete#2 Make sure to keep the bags when unpackaging as when an error occurs, there might be a way to check on it. If an error would occur, it might be caught this way. Finding new allergies that students have may also be limited in this solution. Additionally, contamination of other products with some products could be adverse as if I handled peanuts and then transferred goldfish, a student could have an allergy and potentially die. (Ironically, it has happened.)
#3 I think this idea is very viable. A cross table of what is acceptable may better work. Though students might get sick of certain snacks, at least they don't die. :)
Getting the students to get an allergy test would also help and finding the more "deathly" and severe allergies like peanuts and wheat and classifying and identifying these may reduce death and severe reactions. ;)
ReplyDelete1) i really like this idea. I think the color coded packaging would definitely work. The only concern I might have is for people who are color blind (which I realize is a very small % of the population). An alternative to overcome this, would be to assign stickers with either animals or numbers on them.
ReplyDelete2) This suggestion might be alittle more difficult because the various types of packaging might be hard to find or might cost more.
3) My only concern with this thought is that the master list might cause people to be too reliant on it... and as the list grows longer and longer, the more reliance people put on it
Great problem!! #1 seems to be a logical approach. There is a bit of an "education" that will be needed (and you'll have to build them the system), but it could work. Talking to them about this as a "risk management strategy" (just like other risk management strategies like counting the kids when they get on and off a bus) may make adoption much more likely.
ReplyDeleteI guess you see #2 as similar to #1, but the shapes are probably much harder to remember than the colors / labels. With regard to either of these labels, it may be that getting kids themselves involved might help - e.g., teaching them that they can have any snacks as long as it is not in the "ball-shaped" container (or in the one with the blue label. Of course you cannot rely on the kids, but getting them involved could offer another level of redundancy to your system.
#3 would require the most coordination and prework, but that would be the most foolproof. Actually, what if they just find and purchase only snacks that all the kids can eat? Why not make them a master list of non-allergenic foods. That would basically make the problem go away and would allow them to spend the effort one time to solve the problem (to make the master allergen-free snack food list) and then require no future though or actions. Anyway, great problem!
I think color coded labels would be a good idea. I like the allergen list but for adults this would be appropriate but less so in terms of children because they wouldn't understand what a list of allergens is supposed to do. Colors would do both for children and adults.
ReplyDelete