Cafeteria Gluten-Free Foods

[Mizzo]

Does anyones school carry Udi's bread products or Bell and Evans chicken items.

I inquired to our school and got the response:

We do not carry these vendors?

So... Anyone deal with this before?

[Roda]

My boys carry their lunch every day. Even if they tried to accomidate them, there is just too much chance of CC. If you can sucessfully get the school to accomidate you, and do it properly, that would be great!! Good luck with it and let us know how it is working. Sorry, I wasn't to helpful on your question.

[Ellers]

I agree - my son doesn't even go through the lunch line, I send absolutely everything from home. I worry that if he thinks he can have "something" he'll think he can have "everything".

Good luck - can you speak to the Principal or whoever is in charge of the cafeterias at County level?

[Mizzo]

YEs I know all about the MAJOR CC problems in school cafeteria's . I am trying to talk them into a privately bought Gluten free only griddle for cooking the food on etc... etc...

We have been brown bagging it since the day of diagnosis except for a few trials that didn't work so well. I am trying to work with them on education and understanding but hit a wall with brands.

Right now they only carry Ian's (Super yuck) chicken nuggets and a pizza crust I cannot remember the name of (not Udis) .

[StephanieL]

Do you have a 504 plan in place? If so, they are REQUIRED to get gluten-free foods in for your child. There is a woman (I have the name somewhere just not sure off hand) who speaks on this exact thing around the country and works to lobby for these things in DC.

[Mizzo]

Do you have a 504 plan in place? If so, they are REQUIRED to get gluten-free foods in for your child. There is a woman (I have the name somewhere just not sure off hand) who speaks on this exact thing around the country and works to lobby for these things in DC.

I have not filed for anything and don't know where to start. Can you head me in the right direction?

Thanks.

[StephanieL]

Because of our list of allergies on top of Celiac and that my DS is only in preschool we have not yet filed for one so I am sure there are people more well versed in this than I. What I know I know from other allergy sites and conferences.

You can start by googling 504 plan. It falls under the ADA laws. You need to request a meeting to set up a 504 plan IN WRITING to the school and they have x number of days to get you in to do so. It's best to have all your ducks in a row (letter from the Dr., what kinds of things you want in your plan (they will provide XYZ for lunches and prep in a safe area blah blah blah), what to do for class projects, school parties, field trips). Again, there are people here who have them and I am sure they can help you on the right path. You can probably search this site for "504" and get a lot of information too.

[maximoo]

Well I spoke to the cafeteria mngr @ my DD middle school & she told me "If I were you I'd send her lunch everyday" . They do offer salad bar which DD wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole. Btw my kids qualify for free lunch.So its a shame she can't eat the school lunch but her health is 1st so I send lunch with her. The mngr read me the ingredients for Taco meat & it seemed OK & with rice my DD could manage it whenever they offer it. But DD is a difficult child when it comes to food, so I've been rotating like 3 different meals in her thermos. And just today I discovered another thread about Mac & cheese. Well the powered cheese mix in Kraft mac & cheese is gluten-free All I had to do is use it on gluten-free noodles. Well I bought DeBoles rice spirals (was on sale $1.50--50% off!) and used the cheese mix and its a HIT!

Somebody said Ians nuggets were yucky--well DD likes them but they are expensive. She liked Bell& Evans too but prefers Ians. It's an individual thing just like anything else.

OP: Do not hold your breath waiting for school to choose Udi's or other gluten-free companies to become a vendor. Your kid will be married with grdkids b4 that will ever happen. They do have a strict budget. The salad bar is the only gluten-free food your kid will get and you still have to watch out for cc.

Maybe you can get permission from the school for your kid to microwave lunch on an as needed basis but you will probably need at least a Dr's. note.

[StephanieL]

I found this and while it's for food allergies it may give you a start.

Please don't give up hope that you CAN change things. The woman I spoke with earlier said rice cakes and yogurt were the only things for her kid the first year or so but she showed us his current menu and it was amazing! You can get things for you kid into the school!

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[Mizzo]

Well I spoke to the cafeteria mngr @ my DD middle school & she told me "If I were you I'd send her lunch everyday" . They do offer salad bar which DD wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole. Btw my kids qualify for free lunch.So its a shame she can't eat the school lunch but her health is 1st so I send lunch with her. The mngr read me the ingredients for Taco meat & it seemed OK & with rice my DD could manage it whenever they offer it. But DD is a difficult child when it comes to food, so I've been rotating like 3 different meals in her thermos. And just today I discovered another thread about Mac & cheese. Well the powered cheese mix in Kraft mac & cheese is gluten-free All I had to do is use it on gluten-free noodles. Well I bought DeBoles rice spirals (was on sale $1.50--50% off!) and used the cheese mix and its a HIT!

Somebody said Ians nuggets were yucky--well DD likes them but they are expensive. She liked Bell& Evans too but prefers Ians. It's an individual thing just like anything else.

OP: Do not hold your breath waiting for school to choose Udi's or other gluten-free companies to become a vendor. Your kid will be married with grdkids b4 that will ever happen. They do have a strict budget. The salad bar is the only gluten-free food your kid will get and you still have to watch out for cc.

Maybe you can get permission from the school for your kid to microwave lunch on an as needed basis but you will probably need at least a Dr's. note.

It's not about eating a warmed hot lunch it'a about ordering a lunch like the OTHER KIDS. My DD would like the option once or twice a week.

We can heat up lunches now but an Aide has to do it in the teachers lounge ( no Microwaves allowed in cafe) and it takes half her lunch time to get it done.

The prices are within a dollar of each other so really it's not money. there are only 4 kids in the school with Celiacs 2 order the pizza and chkn nuggets weekly and my dd and 1 other orders nothing. So very little is spent on gluten-free food.

I think i will have a sit down with the director and principal if necessary and investigate my plan 504 option .

[sariesue]

You will probably never get to choose the brands of gluten-free food that the school cafeteria provides. As long as they do provide a gluten free meal they are doing enough for ADA. They do not need to serve the best brands available, just a gluten free brand. Honestly they probably don't have the budget to be buying your kid udis and bell and evans chicken nuggets especially since they cannot charge your kid more for lunch even if their lunch is costing the school twice as much to make. They pick the vendors who are most cost friendly. Plus vendor companies provide more than just one product. Schools have to order what brands the vendors provide. If the schools vendors can only provide ian's nuggets that's what you will be stuck with. You should be grateful that your school is providing gluten free alternatives for hot lunch instead of saying that the gluten-free meal is the salad plate. If your kid won't eat the gluten-free brands that the school buys then you can either pack their lunch, have them get a lunch alternative like a salad and provide the dressing, or tell them to suck it up. No one likes school food anyways.