It’s that time of year again! It’s back to school and instructors from the John C. Stalker Institute (JSI) of Food and Nutrition are traveling to school nutrition programs across Massachusetts to deliver professional development.
On Aug 29th and Aug 31st, JSI presented Food Allergies workshops at Medfield High School and Holten Richmond Middle School in Danvers. The workshops covered the differences between food allergies vs food intolerance, how to read labels for allergens, the nine major food allergies, recognizing food allergy symptoms, cross-contact, discussing strategies to create an allergy safe environment at school, and identifying steps in an Emergency Response Plan.
All JSI workshops are designed to make learning fun and interactive with activities to get participants learning, thinking, and sharing ideas with each other. Activities in this food allergies workshop included:
- Allergens in Your Program.
- Food Allergy Label Reading.
- Menu Substitutions
- How Do You Avoid Cross-Contact?
- Severe Allergic Reaction Emergency.
These activities are designed to give participants the opportunity to practice and test their knowledge on food allergies and discuss how to avoid cross-contact.
Throughout the workshop, participants increased their knowledge, confidence, and competency about food allergies. They engaged with each other, asked questions, and had a good time!
Participants are engaging in discussion questions that help brainstorm ideas to prevent food allergy reactions from taking place in their programs at schools.
If you are interested in requesting this workshop or exploring another topic, please visit the JSI Workshop to Go webpage and request your workshop today!
Article submitted by Kayla Garcia, dietetic intern, NutraCo Dietetic Internship
