Anyone with milk allergy experience?

[tiki]

We got a letter today asking families not to send snacks that contain milk products, as there is someone in DD's classroom with this allergy. They don't give any guidance on what is OK and what is not, though, and as I'm trying to research this I'm finding internet stories of kids with milk allergies being unable to breathe because others in the room ate Doritos or goldfish crackers.

Is anything other than fruit or vegetables safe to send? Are any crackers OK? Anything I'm not thinking of? Isn't there milk in basically any baked goods? Adding to my confusion is the fact that the school served the normal Wednesday school lunch of cheese pizza and milk on the first day..... 

[Poppy]

My oldest had a milk allergy (grew out of it, thankfully). It is a pain to avoid!

A lot of crackers don't have milk ingredients. Ritz, Club, etc. Graham crackers typically don't, either. DS ate a ton of whole wheat Ritz crackers with almond butter, sunbutter, or hummus.

You could also send Nature's Bakery fig bars, Belvita bars, salted popcorn (several brands). Then of course fruits and veg, applesauce, fruit strips, raisins, etc. Sunflower seeds, nuts. There are bread and bagel brands with no dairy.

If there is a treat occasion, Oreo cookies were our go-to.

[tiki]

Poppy, Thank you! That's a super helpful list. We've always been big on cheese and yogurt snacks, plus the granola bars I buy apparently contain milk, so I am starting almost from scratch. Peanuts, tree nuts, and egg are also out, but I have more experience working around those.

[dale]

One of my kids had a nut free and milk free classroom but they were allowed to eat it at lunch because the kids with allergies were in a separate room.
That being said, we sent in Oreos, Honey Maid graham crackers, apple sauce, and Cheerios.

[Poppy]

So my son also was allergic to eggs, none of those have eggs, either! Obviously the almond butter and nuts are out but everything else should be fine.

[wanderingback]

Sept 5, 2023 21:04:56 GMT -5 dale said:

One of my kids had a nut free and milk free classroom but they were allowed to eat it at lunch because the kids with allergies were in a separate room.
That being said, we sent in Oreos, Honey Maid graham crackers, apple sauce, and Cheerios.

Out if curiosity, are schools required to provide specific lunches to kids with certain medical diagnoses such as allergies or celiac disease for example? I haven’t worked in a school since about 2006 and even then allergies and other medical diagnoses didn’t seem as common as they are now so I don’t remember how accommodations were handled.

[dreamcrisp1]

So my son is allergic to dairy (amongst others) but there’s a lot of dairy free options.

You just need to check the labels. For snack, I usually send a fruit, veggie, and rice crackers. There’s quite a few dairy free breads (wonder bread for example, dempsters). Also bagels are usually dairy free and there are English muffins also dairy free. Lunch I send wraps, sandwiches, or warm food. Raisins, various crackers (the premium ones are dairy free!) with DF butter (it tastes the exact same), and lots of stuff to find in the grocery stores are DF.

May contain should be fine to send. It’s only avoiding if it actually contains dairy.

There’s also dairy free yogurt options (oatly tends to be my preferred brand).


Doritos and gold fish are the worst because the cheese dust gets over everything and is hard to clean. I’m pretty chill about his allergies but the minute I see gold fish (the cheese one), I immediately clam up.

[estrellita]

A grew out of her allergy, but we spent a couple years with no dairy for her! I agree with reading labels. Most foods should say if they contain milk. May contain or made in a facility might be OK depending on how severe the allergy is. Most crackers are ok, oreos, fruits (dried is good!), fruit snacks, cereals, etc. I also agree with alternative options like dairy free yogurt. We like Silk but there are tons of options now! Thankfully it should be on the labels so hopefully it won't be too hard to find some things!

[dale]

Sept 5, 2023 21:37:32 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 5, 2023 21:04:56 GMT -5 dale said:

One of my kids had a nut free and milk free classroom but they were allowed to eat it at lunch because the kids with allergies were in a separate room.
That being said, we sent in Oreos, Honey Maid graham crackers, apple sauce, and Cheerios.

Out if curiosity, are schools required to provide specific lunches to kids with certain medical diagnoses such as allergies or celiac disease for example? I haven’t worked in a school since about 2006 and even then allergies and other medical diagnoses didn’t seem as common as they are now so I don’t remember how accommodations were handled.

I don't know about things like gluten free options and such. Our district is free breakfast and lunch for all and there's the main food then alternatives. As alternatives they offer deli sandwiches made to order, parfaits, and sunbutter sandwiches. My son packs his lunch because it's easier for him to carb count for his T1D

[jg183]

Sept 5, 2023 21:37:32 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 5, 2023 21:04:56 GMT -5 dale said:

One of my kids had a nut free and milk free classroom but they were allowed to eat it at lunch because the kids with allergies were in a separate room.
That being said, we sent in Oreos, Honey Maid graham crackers, apple sauce, and Cheerios.

Out if curiosity, are schools required to provide specific lunches to kids with certain medical diagnoses such as allergies or celiac disease for example? I haven’t worked in a school since about 2006 and even then allergies and other medical diagnoses didn’t seem as common as they are now so I don’t remember how accommodations were handled.

Schools are required to provide ingredients so most can be accommodated. However, my son has issues with cross contamination so we are not comfortable with that or their protocols so we send his lunch each day.

[Poppy]

Sept 5, 2023 21:37:32 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 5, 2023 21:04:56 GMT -5 dale said:

One of my kids had a nut free and milk free classroom but they were allowed to eat it at lunch because the kids with allergies were in a separate room.
That being said, we sent in Oreos, Honey Maid graham crackers, apple sauce, and Cheerios.

Out if curiosity, are schools required to provide specific lunches to kids with certain medical diagnoses such as allergies or celiac disease for example? I haven’t worked in a school since about 2006 and even then allergies and other medical diagnoses didn’t seem as common as they are now so I don’t remember how accommodations were handled.

Our school is nut free, so DS can get hot lunch (peanut allergy).

They always have a vegetarian option and it seems like they also strive to limit pork, I believe to accommodate religious limitations. AFAIK they don't specifically have to meet every dietary need. If there was a gluten and milk-free kid, I think they'd really struggle to accommodate that. I don't actually know what would happen if such a kid showed up without lunch from home. Probably get the fruits and veg and that's it most days.

[namasteak]

Sept 6, 2023 6:59:20 GMT -5 dale said:

Sept 5, 2023 21:37:32 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Out if curiosity, are schools required to provide specific lunches to kids with certain medical diagnoses such as allergies or celiac disease for example? I haven’t worked in a school since about 2006 and even then allergies and other medical diagnoses didn’t seem as common as they are now so I don’t remember how accommodations were handled.

I don't know about things like gluten free options and such. Our district is free breakfast and lunch for all and there's the main food then alternatives. As alternatives they offer deli sandwiches made to order, parfaits, and sunbutter sandwiches. My son packs his lunch because it's easier for him to carb count for his T1D

Our district has free lunch for all and has GF lunches available but my kids consistently say they are terrible & they do not have something from each category (a protein/fruit/veggie/car ).