Navigating Allergies & Preferences
Peak to Peak Food Services staff work diligently to ensure that students and families have all the necessary information to keep students with allergies safe during breakfast and lunch. If your student has a food allergy and gets hot lunch or breakfast from the cafeteria, please familiarize yourself with the following information and resources.
- The first step in navigating food allergies is to make sure your student’s account is updated with this information. You can do this during the Annual August Registration process when you complete the SchoolMint family update, or you can email p2p.healthroom@bvsd.org, and they will work with the appropriate departments to make sure that both Infinite Campus and your student’s lunch account are updated with the allergen.
- Make sure to regularly check the Food Services Menus and discuss meal options with your student. Food Services Menus can be easily found under ‘Quick Links’ on the homepage of the website, as well as in the PeaktoPeak Mobile App under ‘Calendars.’
- Familiarize yourself with the Nutritional Information document found on our website (Student Life>Food Services>Nutritional Information). Use the tabs at the bottom to navigate between Breakfast, Lunch, Ingredients/Allergens, and Nutrition Information. Note that this is a very large document and is best viewed on a large screen rather than a mobile device. We want to emphasize a few significant things about this document:
- This document contains all known allergen information provided by our vendors.
- The document is fluid and is continuously updated.
- Sometimes, a distributor may provide a different product due to availability or not provide complete ingredient/nutritional information.
- Information is updated as soon as it is received.
- The image included on this page (or something similar) is filled in and posted near all major meal items (ie, hot dog, mashed potatoes, or breakfast sandwich; but not sides and condiments). Ingredients listed as a possible cross-contaminant (ie “manufactured in a facility that processes tree nuts”) may be listed under ‘other.’ Help your student recognize their allergen(s) on this sign to identify if a food is safe for consumption. Staff may be available to help younger students determine if their allergen is listed on the sign, but cannot provide additional guidance, as they do not know each student’s unique allergy or know every ingredient.
Parents/guardians of young students, please take a moment to show your child the image of the allergen warning and have your child practice verbalizing their allergy or food need. Examples: “I’m allergic to ________. What can I have that is safe for me to eat?”
While the Food Services Team makes every effort to provide accurate information regarding food ingredients and allergens, please be aware that our menus and ingredient lists may not always reflect every ingredient or potential cross-contaminant. Because of this, we cannot guarantee that meals are completely free from specific allergens. For students with severe or life-threatening (anaphylactic) food allergies, families are encouraged to bring a meal from home as an added precaution.
For those with dietary preferences: Students with dietary restrictions (ie. vegetarian, halal, etc.) do not need this noted in Infinite Campus, but are encouraged to review the daily menus with their parent/guardian to be familiar with what their meal options are each day. There is a daily vegetarian option, and halal options are provided as often as possible. Encourage your student to self-advocate when they are in the lunch line to ask, “I don’t eat meat, what can I have?” For younger students, we recommend practicing this with them at home.
