The food service department addresses the needs of our students with food allergies by offering specific meals on select days that are designated on the school lunch menu as dairy-free or gluten-free meals (GF). Unless the item on the menu is specifically listed as an allergy-free meal, parents should assume that the meal contains one or more allergens and as such, students with food allergies should NOT purchase school lunch on that day. We will continue to work on expanding our school lunch options to offer a greater selection of allergy-free choices in the future.
The needs and safety of the children who attend our school is a top priority. That is why for the past several years the BH-BL Food Service Department maintains a completely nut-free kitchen. They do not serve any food or use any products containing peanuts or tree nuts, including peanut butter. They use soynut butter in place of peanut butter. Peanuts and tree nuts also are not included in any recipes and they do not use peanut or sesame oil for cooking or baking.
Furthermore, before buying food or ingredients the food service staff are committed to reading all food labels to ensure there are no peanuts or tree nuts included. The food service staff also have a dedicated set of cutting boards, utensils, and knives that are used for gluten-free cooking to ensure that is no cross contamination.
The food service staff are also in contact with the school nurses to keep student records updated. Specific food allergies for each child are entered into the registers, so as the student goes through the lunch line, a pop-up box appears on the register letting the cashier know to check that what the student is not allergic to any food items on his or her tray. This checks and balances system enable food service employees get to know the students and have their meals ready for pick up.
Although the schools' kitchens are peanut- and tree nut-free, children may still bring peanut products in their school lunch to eat in the school cafeteria. There are designated tables in the cafeteria where children who maintain a peanut and tree nut-free diet may sit. Also, all of our elementary schools' classrooms are nut-controlled zones. Parents are kindly asked to refrain from sending their children to school with snacks that contain nuts. All obvious nuts and nut products may be consumed in the cafeteria during lunch.
All parents/guardians are welcome to visit the district's kitchens and receive a tour. Please contact Director of Food Services Nicky Boehm to set up an appointment.
The BH-BL Food Service Department purchases all of its bread products from Bimbo Bakery. (Rolls, muffins, bagels, Pita, buns, and breads.)
Company Statement: "We assure you that we adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices as established by the FDA. We take abundant precaution to prevent cross-contact of allergenic ingredients between batches, and our bakeries are inspected to ensure that they meet or exceed all regulatory and baking industry standards. We understand that highly sensitive consumers need to know when there is even the remotest possibility of inadvertent cross-contact of allergenic ingredients during processing. To that end we disclose that the following allergenic ingredients are used in some of our manufacturing facilities and that inadvertent cross-contact is remotely possible: milk, eggs, soy, almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts (filberts). Wheat is used in all of our facilities and all of our products as an ingredient. Please refer to ingredient labels on our products for full disclosure of the ingredients used in that product." [VIEW LABELS]